TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team limited Hofstra to 28.6 percent shooting after intermission and rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to claim a 69-65 victory in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) game at SECU Arena Thursday night.
 
It proved to be an even better night for the Tigers, who rallied from a double-digit deficit to win for the fifth time this season.
 
Towson now sits in sole possession of third place in the conference thanks to losses by William & Mary and Elon. Towson is also two games behind the College of Charleston, which lost to Northeastern at the buzzer, for second place with five games remaining.
 
Records
Hofstra                        12-14 overall, 4-9 CAA
Towson                        16-10, 8-5
 
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on Towson's second half defense
"I really challenged them at halftime about our defense. It was just a phenomenal effort defensively. Even the shots they made and the kid Foreman made some tough, tough shots. Dennis' defense was great and he had an unbelievable tip-in. I also thought Eddie Keith came up big for us on the boards. He had a couple of man-sized rebounds for us tonight. It's different guys on different nights every night."
 
Towson freshman forward Dennis Tunstall on his progression this season.
"Whenever my number has been called, I've gone out and tried to work hard and help our team by defending and rebounding. I am getting more comfortable on both the defensive and offensive end of the floor."
 
Towson junior guard Deshaun Morman on outscoring Hofstra, 10-0, in fastbreak points.
"I told the guys at halftime that once we get going on defense, then our offense will come. That's where we get most of our points from is transition. It's hard to stop us in transition because we have a lot of athletic guys. We get a stop on defense and we're out. Everybody wants to score so we're pushing the ball. We're just trying to get as many points as we can off of our turnovers and stops."
 
How It Happened

• Morman led three Towson players in double figures with 13 points.
• Mike Morsell (12 points) and Arnaud William Adala Moto (11) also reached double figures.
• Trailing 39-29 nine seconds into the second half following a Justin Wright-Foreman 3-pointer, Towson's defense went to work.
• The Tigers forced nine consecutive missed shots, held Hofstra scoreless for a stretch of 5 minutes, 23 seconds and scored 12 consecutive points to get back into the game.
• Fueling Towson's defensive surge was Tunstall, who had two monster blocked shots during the Tigers 12-0 run.
• Hofstra recovered from Towson's run to take a 48-45 lead with 8:46 remaining.
• Towson scored eight consecutive points to take a 53-48 lead and gain control of the contest.
• John Davis converted a nice pass from Brian Starr to give Towson the lead for good, 49-48 with 7:22 left.
• Towson held off the Pride's late charge by making 8-of-10 foul shots in the final 32 seconds.
• Eddie Keith II, who led Towson with seven rebounds, came up with a pair of huge offensive rebounds to keep a late Tigers possession alive.
• Wright-Foreman finished with a game-high 29 points for Hofstra.
• Towson threw down four dunks during the game highlight by Morman's one-handed breakaway dunk that shook SECU to its core and brought the crowd out of its seats.

 
Inside the Numbers

• Towson has won six consecutive home games.
• The Tigers are 43-16 all-time in SECU Arena and 10-3 this season.
• Towson's three wins during this perfect homestand were by a combined seven points.
• Towson swept the season series from Hofstra for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
• The Tigers have won seven of the last 10 meetings against the Pride.
• Towson has won eight of its last nine games.
• Six different Towson players finished with at least five rebounds.
• Towson won rebounding battle, 45-33.
• This is the fifth time in the last six games, Towson has grabbed at least 40 rebounds.
• Davis has 1,100 career points, becoming the 20th player in program history to reach that plateau.
• Starr had four assists and three steals.
• After going 3-for-3 from the field, Tunstall has made his last 10 shots dating back to Dec. 21 against Nevada. He's actually 17 for his last 18 since Nov. 30 against Goucher.
• Tunstall had six rebounds.
• Morman reached double figures for the 14th time this season and 16th time in his career.
• This was Morsell's 50th career game reaching double figures in scoring.
• Towson won the battle of benches, 41-7.
• The Tigers also outscored the Pride, 38-8, in the paint.
• In two games against Hofstra this season, Zane Martin averaged 16 points after scoring nine.

 
Up Next
Towson travels to face Drexel Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. Game time is 4 p.m. The Tigers defeated Drexel, 104-103, in double overtime on Feb. 2. Drexel beat William & Mary, 79-61, Thursday night.