PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Josh Thornton scored a game-high 23 points but the Tigers couldn't stop a late St. Joseph's rally as the homestanding Hawks beat Towson 64-57 at Hagan Arena on Monday night.

The loss dropped the Tigers' record to 4-13 while St. Joseph's improved to 6-11 on the season.

 "We didn't get the ball inside enough," said Tiger coach  Pat Kennedy. "We needed to get Robert Nwankwo and Calvin Lee more involved."

Towson's starting front court of Nwankwo, Lee and Isaiah Philmore were held to a combined 13 points. Thornton and Jarrell Smith came off the bench to combine for 40 of the Tigers' 57 points. Nwankwo added 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. 

After a slow start the Tigers got hot, or Thornton got hot. Thornton, whose participation was questionable because of a sore ankle, lit  up the scoreboard, rallying the Tigers from a 10-5 deficit to their largest lead, 27-19, with sharp three-point shooting. He scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half, going 4 of 5 from the beyond the arc as Towson took a 29-23 lead into halftime

Trailing by 15-13 later in the first half, the Tigers went on a 14-6 run to take a 27-21 lead with 3:30 remaining. Thornton was instrumental in the spurt, scoring 10 points.

The Hawks regained the lead early in the second half by going on an 11-4 run in the first 4:25 of the period for a 34-33 advantage. However, the Tigers battled back and took a 41-37 advantage with 14:08 left on a three-point field goal by Smith. But, the Hawks responded by scoring 11 of the next 13 points for a five-point cushion with 9:23 remaining.

Smith gave the Tigers a 50-49 edge by scoring the team's next seven points in a 7-2 spurt, including a three-point basket as the shot clock expired with 7:15 left.

Led by six points from Idris Hilliard, the Hawks answered with a 9-2 burst for a 58-52 advantage with 2:07 remaining. Thornton converted two of three free throws to narrow the margin to 58-54 with 1:40 left, but the Tigers got no closer.

Hilliard led the Hawks with 20 points and eight rebounds.

Towson's starting point guard, Brian Morris, was injured just three minutes into the game and never returned, leaving the Tigers thin in the backcourt. Josh Brown came on in relief and played a career high 35 minutes. 

The Tigers return to their Colonial Athletic Association schedule on Wednesday night when they host Northeastern in the Towson Center at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast in the Baltimore area on WBAL-AM 1090.