CATONSVILLE, Md. – Brian Fobbs applied the finishing flourish to his career best scoring performance by making a go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Fobbs' sixth 3-pointer and the ensuing defensive stop ultimately lifted the Towson University men's basketball team to a pulsating 80-76 victory in double overtime over UMBC at the UMBC Event Center Tuesday night in a thriller.
With the game tied, 76-76, the shot clock winding down, the 6-foot, 5-inch junior guard delivered. Fobbs finished with 32 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. He was also 6-of-12 from 3-point distance and made all 10 of his free throws as the Tigers defeated UMBC for a sixth straight time. He also had seven rebounds in 44 minutes.
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on his team's performance in the victory.
"I am proud of our kids for hanging in there. This game could've gone either way. It was a great local game and I think both teams will benefit from it once they get into conference play. This was a good win for us especially here on the road. We're fortunate to win a game against a good ball club in a beautiful, awesome environment."
Fobbs on his go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining and the environment.
"It was open for me. I didn't mean to take the last shot. It was just there and I decided to take it. That's just the coaches and my teammates having confidence in me to take the shot at the point of the game."
Fobbs on what it was like playing in a double overtime thriller.
It was exhausting, but at the same time I had fun because we stayed together as a team through the entire game. Plus it was a good atmosphere. Competing against a good team like UMBC was exciting."
Historic Notes on Fobbs' Scoring Performance
- The 32 points is tied for the 13th best single-game scoring performance in Towson history with nine other players.
- Fobbs is the first Tiger to hit for 30 or more points since Zane Martin scored 36 points at Hofstra on Feb. 24, 2018.
- Fobbs is the fourth Towson player in program history to score at least 32 points in a single-game against UMBC.
- He joins Kurk Lee (44 points, Dec. 8, 1999), Terrance Jacobs (39, Feb. 15, 1992) and Devin Boyd (32, Feb. 3, 1993).
- This is the third consecutive season, a Tiger has scored 30 or more points in a road game.
- Fobbs is the eighth Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) student-athlete to score 30 or more points in a game this season.
How It Happened
- Towson never trailed in the second overtime.
- The Tigers rallied from a five-point deficit with 4 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in regulation.
- Dennis Tunstall finished with a career best 15 rebounds.
- It was the second time in six days that Tunstall finished with a career best rebounding total.
- Nakye Sanders finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
- Sanders' free throw with one second remaining in the second overtime provided the winning margin.
- UMBC's R.J. Eytle-Rock split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 76-76 with 1:32 left before Fobbs hit the trey for the win.
- Senior Jordan McNeil scored 10 points.
- McNeil made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the final 90 seconds of the first overtime that gave Towson a 68-64 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
- UMBC forced the extra session when guard K.J. Jackson split a pair of foul shots with seven seconds remaining.
- Jackson's foul shot answered Sanders' basket with 42 seconds left that gave Towson a 58-57 lead.
- Making his first career start, Solomon Uyaelunmo added eight points and five rebounds.
- Towson's defense held UMBC to 37.5 percent shooting (27-for-72).
- UMBC made one of its last 10 3-point attempts over the last nine minutes of regulation and both overtimes.
- Towson was 23-for-28 (82.1 percent) and UMBC was 11-for-22 (50 percent) from the free-throw line.
- Brandon Horvath led four UMBC in double figures with 19 points.
- Jackson finished with 17 points and Arkel Lamar added 15 points.
- Joe Sherburne had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds.
Inside the Numbers
- There were 12 ties and eight lead changes.
- The entire second half and both overtime periods were played within a five-point radius.
- Towson had a season best 46 rebounds.
- Fobbs has scored in double figures in six straight games.
- Fobbs has led Towson in scoring in five consecutive contests.
- He raised his scoring average from 14.1 points to 16.7 points per game.
- This was McNeil's first double digit scoring game of the season and the 11th of his career.
- This was Tunstall's fourth career double-digit rebounding performance.
- Tunstall has finished with at least five rebounds in a single game 25 times in his career.
- This was the sixth time and 11th time in his career that Sanders reached double figures in scoring.
- This was the third game this season and second straight in which Towson had at least three players finish with at least seven rebounds.
- UMBC attempted its first foul shot with 8:23 remaining.
- This was Towson's first double overtime game since a 104-103 win over Drexel at SECU Arena on Feb. 2, 2017.
- This was the third overtime game in the Towson-UMBC series.
- Two of three have gone at least double overtime.
- The last Towson-UMBC double overtime game was on Feb. 27, 1993, a 97-92 TU win.
- Towson is 22-3 against in-state opponents since the 2012-13 season.
- The Tigers ended a four-game road losing streak dating back to last season.
- Jakigh Dottin played a career best 29 minutes.
Up Next
Towson will play Tulane on Friday, Dec. 21 at 5 p.m. in the Boardwalk Battle at Atlantic City's Convention Hall. It will be the first meeting in program history against the Green Wave. La Salle and Alabama A&M are the other two teams in the tournament.
