TOWSON, Md. – This game, this season, and everything the Towson University men's basketball team does from here on out is for senior John Davis, who will miss the remainder of the season.
 
The Tigers made their teammate proud by delivering a punishing payback to Elon in the form of an 85-66 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest that delighted many of the fans in SECU Arena Thursday night. Once again, Towson's unlimited supply of depth and balance made the difference as the Tigers atoned for an 11-point setback to Elon last month.
 
Towson junior guard Mike Morsell lit up the night by erupting for a game-high 32 points, including the 1,000th of his career to help the rampaging Tigers win their fifth consecutive contest. Towson has won 10 of its last 11 games, including seven straight at home.
 
Tyler Seibring led three Elon players with 22 points.
 
Records
Elon                 16-12 overall, 8-7 CAA
Towson           18-10, 10-5
 
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on his team's performance
"I thought our freshmen really separated the game for us tonight. Zane (Martin) got some big buckets and Justin (Gorham) and Dennis (Tunstall) were really good. Mike was Mike and that's what we needed. He dominated the game and was on a different level. It's not surprising."
 
Skerry on playing without Davis
"I am proud of these guys. They really responded. I love this group. I am on them like crazy and they probably think I am nuts for saying that, but this is the best group I've been around. John means a lot and I know they want to win for him. The best way to win for John is to be the best version of yourself and we'll be fine. This is a really close group. We are playing for him because he's meant so much to us."
 
Morsell on Towson's effort and scoring 1,000 career points
"It was a tough week, but we just had to focus on the game and that's what I did. It means a lot (to score 1,000 points). It's an honor and to do it in a game that we win is meaningful."
 
How It Happened

• Martin scored 12 points and grabbed four rebounds.
• Brian Starr and Arnaud William Adala Moto scored nine points each.
• Deshaun Morman's career best six assists complemented his seven points.
• One of Morman's assists, a no-look pass, led to an awesome Morsell dunk that brought the house down late in the game.
• Tunstall had a vicious two-handed dunk over an Elon player that was also a crowd favorite.
• Gorham and Tunstall grabbed five rebounds each.
• All 10 players who saw action for Towson hit the scoring column and played at least nine minutes.
• After Elon connected at a 52.4 percent clip in the first half, Towson's defense locked down and held the Phoenix to 38.2 percent shooting after intermission.
• Towson made a season best 10 3-pointers.
• Meanwhile, Elon entered the game third in the CAA in 3-pointers made per game (9.2), but the Tigers held the Phoenix to six made 3-pointers.
• After Elon had cut Towson's 14-point bulge to 58-52 with 9:30 remaining, the game belonged to the Tigers.
• Towson held Elon to 11 points over a seven-minute stretch.
• Martin made a pair of foul shots to give Towson a 67-56 lead with 6:18 left.
• Towson's lead never dropped below double digits following Martin's free throw.
• Morsell and Tunstall applied the finishing flourishes by combining to score Towson's final 16 points of the game.
• Leading 37-33 at intermission, the Tigers immediately took control during the first five minutes of the second half with a 17-5 run.
• The run was highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers from Morman and Adala-Moto that gave Towson a 54-40 lead with 15:12 remaining.
• After falling behind 7-3 early, the Tigers took control of the game by scoring eight straight points.
• Morsell drained a jumper that gave Towson a 9-7 lead. Towson never trailed again.

 
Inside the Numbers

• This is the eighth time as a Division I program, Towson has won at least 18 games.
• This is Towson's second five-game winning streak this season.
• Towson currently has the longest winning streak of any CAA school.
• Towson improved to 11-3 at home this season and 44-16 all-time at SECU Arena.
• Towson shot 50 percent in the second half (16-of-32).
• It was the ninth time this season, Towson has made at least 50 percent of its shots in the second half.
• This was the sixth time in the last 11 games, Towson scored at least 80 points.
• The Tigers are 5-1 all-time in regular season meetings against Elon.
• Morsell is the 26th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• He's the third Towson player this season to score 1,000 career points, joining Davis and Adala Moto.
• Morsell is 24th all-time on the Towson all-time scoring list with 1,030 points.
• This was Morsell's second game this season and the third time in his career with at least 30 points.
• Martin reached double figures in scoring for the third time this season.
• Eddie Keith II had three assists and a giant blocked shot.
• Seven Towson players had at least four rebounds.
• Towson grabbed 42 rebounds, the seventh time in the last eight games, finishing with at least 40 rebounds.

 
Up Next
Towson plays its final home game of the 2016-17 season. The Tigers will host James Madison at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on Comcast Sportsnet. It will also be senior night for the Tigers. James Madison defeated Towson, 64-44, on Jan. 2 in Harrisonburg.
 
In addition, the Towson University Department of Athletics will honor its history and recognize its Black Hall of Fame members when it hosts its first Black Student-Athlete Celebration during home basketball games this weekend: http://towsontigers.com/news/2017/1/25/mens-basketball-towson-to-hold-black-alumni-student-athlete-celebration.aspx?path=mbball.