TOWSON, Md. – Towson got a strong inside game from
John Davis and
Timajh Parker-Rivera, but it was the hot outside shooting from William & Mary that proved to the be the difference as the Tigers fell, 85-72, Saturday afternoon at SECU Arena.
Davis registered his eighth double-double of the season with a career-best 24 points and 11 rebounds. Parker-Rivera went 6-of-9 from the floor for 14 points and six rebounds.
WM (11-6, 5-1 CAA) went 7-of-12 (.583) from beyond the arc in the second half in outscoring the Tigers by 13 points. The Tribe scored 50 points in the final 20 minutes, after scoring 52 in the second half against UNCW in their last game.
The Tigers (8-11, 1-5 CAA) did a good job of taking care of the basketball and committed a season-low four turnovers. Towson was also strong on the offensive glass as they outrebounded WM, 20-6, on the offensive end. The Tigers were able to convert those 20 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points.
Davis tried to keep the Tigers in the game in the second half as he scored down low to pull Towson within five with 13:01 left. But, Marcus Thornton came down and buried a three, and Omar Prewitt converted a steal into a dunk to push the lead to 10 just 38 seconds later. WM finished the game 13-of-23 (.565) from beyond the arc.
The lead would hover around 10 points until Thornton knocked down a three pointer and Daniel Dixon hit all three free throws to extend the lead to 18 points with 7:35 to play.
Towson did not go quietly the rest of the game as they outscored the Tribe 19-14 over the final six minutes of play. Davis led the attack by scoring 10 of his points over that span, including hitting his first career three-pointer.
The Tigers played one of their best first halves of the season as they shot 14-of-32 from the floor and outscored WM 16-8 in the paint. The evenly played first half saw 10 lead changes and the score was tied six times, including 35-35 at the half.
The Tigers return to action Thursday evening as they travel to face Elon. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
