NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Arnaud William Adala Moto started strong and Zane Martin finished with a flourish to help the Towson University men's basketball team deliver a punishing payback in the form of an 82-54 victory over Northeastern in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) quarterfinal game at the North Charleston Coliseum Saturday night.
 
In advancing to Sunday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal against the College of Charleston, the Tigers avenged last year's quarterfinal setback to Northeastern.
 
The Tigers also won their 20th game of the season. It's the first time as a Division I program and the second in school history that Towson has won 20 games in consecutive seasons. It's also Towson's third 20-win season in the last four years.
 
When Northeastern sliced Towson's 23-point lead to 12 points with six minutes remaining, Martin went berserk and turned the lights out. Martin scored nine of Towson's next 11 points. By the time Martin finished his ruthless assault on the Huskies defense, the Tigers were comfortably in control, 70-49, with 4:02 remaining.
 
Records
Northeastern   15-16
Towson           20-12
 
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the win.
"I thought Brian Starr controlled the game and when it got close, Zane really gave us a push to separate the game. It's been different guys every game for us all year. Our mindset was making T.J. take tough two's, keeping him off the foul line and making sure the other guys don't get open threes.
 
Adala Moto on avenging last year's CAA quarterfinal loss to Northeastern and starting fast.
"We didn't want to feel like we felt last year, so that was definitely some motivation for us coming into this game to beat them. It was nice to be involved early. Coach designed the plays out of the middle of the zone. We knew they were going to play zone. We worked on attacking their zone all week and finishing strong when we had the chance. Our mentality was to attack the basket and find open guys when they were collapsing in the paint. That was the game plan.
 
Martin on his scoring surge late in the second half.
"I just felt like we needed somebody to pick it up and I feel like I am that guy and I always like to take it into my hands. I am not nervous anymore."  
 
How It Happened

• Martin scored all 17 of his points in the second half to lead the Tigers.
• Martin's efficient performance was that much more impressive considering he did not attempt a shot in the entire first half.
• Brian Starr and Adala Moto added 12 points each.
• Adala Moto also dished a team best five assists.
• Jordan McNeil finished with 10 points.
• While they handled the scoring, Eddie Keith II and Dennis Tunstall cleaned the glass by grabbing a team-best eight rebounds each.
• Towson's terrific defense limited CAA Player of the Year T.J. Williams to 15 harmless points on 3-of-16 shooting.
• Towson never trailed and led by double figures for the final 25 minutes, 56 seconds.
• Towson's defense limited Northeastern to 27.5 percent shooting.
• Meanwhile, the Tigers made 53.8 percent of their shots, including 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) in the second half.
• The Tigers had 11 assists on their first 15 baskets.
• Adala Moto scored eight of Towson's first 13 points to help the Tigers sprint to an early 13-5 advantage with 11:44 remaining.
• Jordan McNeil made both of his 3-pointers during a three-minute stretch of the first half to help the Tigers open a 30-15 lead.
• McNeil's first 3-pointer gave Towson a 24-12 lead with 5:56 remaining in the first half. Towson's lead never dropped below double digits.
• Leading 37-23 at halftime, Towson opened the second half by scoring 10 of the first 14 points.
• The quick start to the second half was capped by a beautiful Brian Starr reverse layup that gave the Tigers a 47-27 bulge with 16:22 remaining.
• Tunstall had two dunks. His second flush gave the Tigers a 58-35 lead with 9:53 remaining.

 
Inside the Numbers

• The Tigers have won 12 of their last 15 games.
• This is the third time and first time since 2014 Towson has advanced to the CAA semifinals since joining the league in 2001.
• Towson improved to 8-14 all-time in the CAA Tournament.
• This was Towson's largest margin of victory in CAA Tournament history.
• The 28-point margin of victory was Towson's largest over Northeastern in 36 meetings.
• This is the sixth time in program history Towson has won at least 20 games in a season, and the fourth time in its Division I history.
• The Tigers 66.7 second half shooting performance was their best of the season.
• Towson has shot at least 50 percent in the second half 11 times this season.
• The Tigers have made 50 percent of their shots in three of their last four games.
• The Tigers had a balanced effort in the first 20 minutes of play, with seven different scorers contributing to a 37-23 lead.
• NU made just five field goals as a team and turned the ball over seven times in the first half.
• This is the second time this season Martin has led Towson in scoring.
• Martin has scored in double figures in four of Towson's last five games.
• Towson improved to 10-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
• The Tigers won the rebounding battle, 43-28.
• Towson won the battle of benches, 44-12.

 
Up Next
The Tigers will meet the College of Charleston. The teams split the regular season meetings with each winning on their home floor. The Cougars won 62-57 on Jan. 5 and the Tigers captured an 83-77 overtime decision on Jan. 26. This will be the first time Charleston and Towson will meet in the CAA Tournament. The other semifinal matchup is No. 4 William & Mary against No. 1 UNCW. Sunday's winners advance to Monday's championship contest at 7 p.m.