Towson University Athletics

Scoreboard

Men's Basketball 11.30.2013

Tigers Top Abilene Christian To Continue Hot Start

TOWSON, Md. – The Towson men's basketball team won its 10th straight home game and improved to 6-2 for the first time as a Division I program as the Tigers rolled past Abilene Christian, 74-47, in a Battle 4 Atlantis Mainland game played at SECU Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers, who shot 26-for-45 (57.8 percent) for the game, are off to their best start since opening the 1977-78 season with a 21-2 record. Towson moved to Division I for the 1979-80 season.

Senior Rafriel Guthrie led five Tigers in double figures with 15 points off the bench. Sophomore Four McGlynn and senior Marcus Damas chipped in 14 a piece, while Jerrelle Benimon had 13 points and Mike Burwell added 10 on eight shots each. McGlynn hit four three-pointers for the second straight game and Benimon added a team-high seven rebounds and game-high five assists to his stat line.

Leading 12-9 early in the game, freshman Walter Foster sparked an 11-2 Towson run with a baseline jumper. Burwell tallied six points during the spurt, including a three-pointer and a traditional three-point play on consecutive Tiger possessions.

After Abilene Christian cut the Towson lead to 28-21 with 6:05 remaining in the first half, McGlynn hit back-to-back three-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run that put the Tigers up 17 points. Towson would take a 46-25 lead into halftime after shooting 62.5 percent in the opening period.

The Wildcats got to within 57-41 with 8:29 remaining in the second half, but Damas scored four straight Towson points as the Tigers ended the game on a 17-6 run to cruise to their third straight win.

Towson, which never trailed in the game, shot 6-for-12 from the three-point line in the first half and made 16 of 18 free throws (88.9%) in the game. For the seventh time in eight games, the Tigers won the rebounding battle, holding a decisive 36-23 advantage on the glass against the Wildcats.

Abilene Christian, which falls to 2-8 on the year, was paced by Jacob Lancaster's 15 points and eight rebounds.

McGlynn was named Co-MVP of the tournament along with Sandy Underwood of West Alabama, which also went 2-0 on the weekend. Also on the all-tournament team was Damas, West Alabama's Jarell Byrd and The Citadel's Brian White.

The Tigers will next play in the Lumberjack E-Tech Classic in Nacogdoches, Texas on December 6-7. Towson will take on Stephen F. Austin on Friday before facing Sam Houston State on Saturday.

-TowsonTigers.com-

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