TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team's 20th victory of a special season is sweeter and tastier than a Maryland crab drenched in Old Bay seasoning and melted butter.
 
Getting contributions from everybody, most notably senior standouts Josh Ivory and Timajh Parker-Rivera, Towson survived a late James Madison flurry to claim a thrilling 69-67 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) men's basketball game Thursday night at rollicking SECU Arena.
 
In becoming the all-time winningest player in Towson men's basketball history, Parker-Rivera finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards as the Tigers finished their home schedule with a fantastic flourish. Ivory exploded for a career-high 11 points.
 
Parker-Rivera was removed from the game with three seconds remaining to a rousing ovation from the crowd. He hugged head coach Pat Skerry and gave each assistant coach and teammates heartfelt high-fives. Before the game, Parker-Rivera took in the festive atmosphere and soaked in everything.
 
Quotable
Parker-Rivera on becoming the all-time winningest player
"It means a lot to be the all-time winningest player in program history. It hasn't sunk in yet. It was a great feeling for me to have a performance like this in my last home game. I was looking at the rafters before the game and saw a banner from my freshman year and said to myself that it's time for me to put another one up there.
 
Ivory on his mindset entering the game
"My mind was on winning. TJ and I were talking earlier this week and all we wanted to do was win. We knew it was senior night, but we also wanted to get our 20th win. That was important for us. We had a good week of practice and we defended well. The coaches did a great job."
 
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on his seniors
"This win is special for the seniors because they have meant so much to our program. T.J. took a big chance on us when he came here because I didn't have a lot to sell him then. T.J. was a monster for us tonight and he wouldn't be denied. Josh gave us a tremendous lift tonight and the three he made in the second half was a dagger. This is a guy who is going to be really successful. He's a good teammate and he works really hard. He understands what it means to be unselfish."
 
How It Happened

• In becoming the fourth CAA team with 20 wins this season, Towson placed four players in double figures.
• The Tigers outrebounded James Madison 17-11 in the second half.
• Towson held James Madison's leading scorer Ron Curry without a point for the first 30 minutes.
• Towson never trailed in the second half.
• Parker-Rivera had a steal at halfcourt and threw down a dunk that shook SECU Arena to its core with 6:19 remaining. That gave Towson a 53-42 lead.
• Later in the half with Towson clinging to a 58-52 lead with 2:27 remaining, Parker-Rivera scored with one-second left on the shotclock on a sweet alley-oop from Mike Morsell.
• Curry scored 12 of his 20 points in the final 3:23 of the contest.
• The Tigers started fast by making their first three 3-point shot attempts of the contest.
• Triples from John Davis, William Adala Moto and Josh Ivory helped Towson swoosh to a 9-2 advantage two minutes into the game.
• Seven of Towson's first eight field goals were 3-pointers.
• The Tigers made 53.8 percent of their 3-pointers in the first half (7-for-11).
• The Tigers swished three straight triples as part of a 9-0 burst that helped open its largest lead of the first half, 25-17.
• Ivory's second 3-pointer of the first half gave Towson a 19-17 lead. The Tigers wouldn't trail again in the game.
• Mike Morsell made two 3-pointers in a two-minute span of the first half.
• Ivory scored eight first-half points helped Towson to a 28-25 intermission edge.

 
Inside the Numbers

• This is the second time in three years that Towson has won 20 games.
• Towson has posted three 20-win seasons since becoming a Division I program in 1979.
• Towson finished the season 12-3 at home.
• The Tigers are 33-13 all-time at SECU Arena.
• Towson went 6-3 overall in CAA home games this season.
• Towson snapped a three-game losing streak to the Dukes.
• With 11 points, Morsell has scored in double figures 22 times this season.
• Five of Ivory's 11 3-pointers this season have been against James Madison.
• With a game-high 11 rebounds, Adala-Moto has eight double-digit rebounding outings.
• Adala-Moto had six points and six rebounds after intermission.
• Hawkins tied a career-high by going 11-for-13 from the foul line.
• Hawkins scored 11 of his 16 points from the charity stripe.
• This was Hawkins' 22nd double-figure game of the season.
• Alex Thomas was huge with two putbacks off of offensive rebounds.
• The Tigers outrebounded their 16th consecutive opponent.

 
Up Next
Towson finishes its regular season schedule against UNCW at Trask Coliseum Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Towson defeated the Seahawks, 76-60, at SECU Arena on Jan. 7.