WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Championship season has officially started for the Towson University men's basketball team.
 
Even though Towson concluded a difficult road trip with an 83-79 loss to William & Mary in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest at Kaplan Arena Saturday afternoon, the Tigers almost pulled off a stunning rally.
 
Now, the Tigers, who were locked in as the No. 3 seed regardless of the outcome of the game, will turn their attention to Northeastern, their quarterfinal opponent in the CAA tournament next Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. Both teams traded seven-point home victories over each other during a two-week span in January. This will be the second straight year that Towson and Northeastern will meet in a CAA quarterfinal contest.
 
Before focusing on the Huskies, Towson was confident it would rally from a 22-point second half deficit over the final 11 minutes against the Tribe. After all, Towson came back from 17 points to beat W&M three weeks ago.
 
It almost happened again.
 
Towson sliced 20 points off of its deficit before ultimately running out of time. Being relentless on defense and playing with grit, heart, poise and resilience, the Tigers made their presence felt.
 
Arnaud William Adala Moto led five Towson players in double figures with 15 points. William & Mary was led Daniel Dixon, who scored 32 points. William & Mary will open the CAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed and will meet No. 5 seed Elon in a quarterfinal contest at 2:30 p.m.
 
Records
Towson                       19-12 overall, 11-7 CAA
William & Mary          16-13, 10-8
 
How It Happened

• Jordan McNeil and Deshaun Morman finished with 13 points each for Towson.
• Brian Starr and Zane Martin scored 10 points each.
• Towson fell into a 69-47 hole with 11 minutes, 29 seconds remaining before mounting its furious charge.
• Fueled by tremendous heart-to-heart defense and foul shooting, the Tigers began taking bites out of their deficit.
• McNeil fired in a 3-pointer to bring Towson to within, 81-79, with 12 seconds remaining.
• Amazingly, Towson trailed 77-74 with under two minutes remaining and had two chances to tie the game or cut W&M's deficit even more.
• The Tigers missed both shots and the Tribe made just enough free throws to hang on and earn the season split.
• Morman helped Towson get serious when he scored eight straight points to bring the Tigers to within 75-71 with 3:50 left.
• Leading 42-33 at halftime, William & Mary opened the second half on a 13-4 run to double its advantage, 55-37, with 15:50 left.
• Two three-pointers from Brian Starr and another from Zane Martin were the centerpieces of an 18-4 Towson run that cut the Tribe's lead to 35-30 with 2:38 left before intermission.
• Towson trailed, 31-12 with 7:00 remaining in the first half.
• William & Mary took immediate control by scoring 18 consecutive points to open an 18-2 bulge 5:07 into the game.
• Morman scored the first basket of the game for a quick 2-0 Towson lead. It was the Tigers' only advantage of the game.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Towson finished with 11 CAA victories for the second straight season.
• William & Mary and Towson combined to attempt 82 free throws and commit 52 fouls.
• Towson won the rebounding battle, 35-30.
• Morman led the Tigers with four assists and three steals.
• Justin Gorham led the Tigers with six rebounds.
• Nine Towson players hit the scoring column.
• Adala Moto averaged 24 points in two Towson games this week.
• Martin ended the regular season by scoring in double figures in three of Towson's last four games.
• Starr reached double figures for the fifth time this season.
• McNeil matched his season in points. He also scored 13 points against Hofstra.
• Towson won the battle of the benches, 32-14.
• The Tigers held the Tribe without a basket for the final 2:52.
• This was the third time in five years Towson finished with at least 19 regular season wins.
• Nathan Knight added 20 points for William & Mary.

 
Up Next
Towson begins its quest for its first CAA title against Northeastern Saturday, March 4 at 8:30 p.m.