PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Towson's strength became an Achilles heel Wednesday night as the Tigers struggled at the charity stripe, missing 11 free throws in a six-point, 65-59 loss at Drexel in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup.
The Tigers, who entered the game as the CAA's second leading free throw shooting team (.714), trimmed a 14-point Drexel lead to four late in the contest but couldn't finish, losing for an 11th straight time to drop to 4-18 and 0-12 in the league. Drexel meanwhile improved to 15-7 and 7-5 in the conference.
"I thought we did a great job with our man-to-man defense," said Tiger head coach Pat Kennedy. "Despite not making the plays we needed to down the stretch I thought it was a gallant effort."
Towson's last trip to the DAC exactly one year ago tonight resulted in a 97-55 loss.
In addition to the subpar showing at the free throw line the Tigers were outmuscled on the boards 47-21. However, Towson committed only six turnovers and shot 8 of 14 from beyond the arc against the nation's second ranked team in three-point field goal percentage defense.
The game got off on a snail's pace. Neither team shot lights out in the first half. Near the midway point Drexel was two of 12 from the field. The Tigers were two of eight, courtesy of two RaShawn Polk treys that gave Towson a 6-5 lead. Two Isaiah Philmore free throws boosted Towson to its largest lead of the game, 8-5.
Drexel was the first to warm up. Dre Conner's driving layup gave Towson its last lead, 14-12, at the 8:23 mark. The Dragons then went on a quick 12-0 run to assume a 24-14 lead with 5:26 to play and finished the opening period with a 30-22 halftime lead.
Drexel eventually expanded its lead to 14 (41-27) five minutes into the second half. The Tigers pecked away at their deficit until they had it whittled down to 50-46 with 7:33 left to play. Towson could get no closer than four points on three different occasions the rest of the way.
Josh Brown's triple with 29 seconds left cut it to 63-59. With 19 seconds remaining Drexel's Chris Fouch (15 points) missed two free throws but Daryl McCoy (game high 13 boards) wrestled the rebound away from the Tigers, dashing any last hopes for Towson pulling out a win that would have ended an 11-game skid in conference play.
The real battles for the game were waged underneath where McCoy and Samme Givens, the CAA's leading rebounder who finished with 11 boards, held Towson's Philmore and Braxton Dupree to a combined 16 points and 16 rebounds.
"A strength of ours this season has been the play of Isaiah and Braxton," said Kennedy. "We need those two plus a guard to play very well in order to be successful."
Polk led Towson with 14 points. Philmore, limited to two of 11 shooting from the field, was the only other Tiger in double figures with 11 points. He was six of eight from the free throw line.
The Tigers are back in action this Saturday afternoon when they host Georgia State at 4:00 p.m. in the Towson Center. The Tigers are in the stretch run of their regular season with five of their remaining seven games at home.
