TOWSON, Md. – The day started for the Towson University men's basketball team (7-14, 3-5 CAA) with a former walk-on earning a scholarship for the spring.  The night ended with the Tigers earning a strong 75-72 victory over Northeastern (11-9, 5-3 CAA), the preseason favorite in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
 
Key Game Stats:

• Towson used a 49-point second half to sprint past Northeastern, its highest scoring half since putting 53 points in the second half on the board at Elon on December 28^th.
• Towson outrebounded Northeastern 40-22 in the game, including 17 offensive boards to 11 defensive rebounds for the Huskies.
• The Tigers withstood 13 three-point field goals from NU, shooting 50% from the floor and earning 48 points in the paint to NU's 20.
• Brian Fobbs earned double digit points for the 17^th consecutive game, tallying 18 points, the 16^th time this season he led Towson in scoring, and eight rebounds.  Jordan McNeil shot 6-for-10 for 12 points and a pair of steals.  Seven Tigers had at least seven points in the game.
• For Northeastern, each Vasa Pusica and Bolden Brace had 18 points.
• Towson began the game on a 9-0 run, with four different players scoring points in that span.
• Before the game, former walk-on Chris Caliguiran was placed on scholarship starting in the spring semester.  The coaching staff announced this to the team in the locker room during pregame film.

Postgame Quotes:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "We beat a very good basketball team, a well-coached team.  Give our guys credit, Northeastern hit a lot of threes, but our guys guarded them well.  Our goal was to be +12 on the glass, and they rallied, this is a big win for us."
 
How it Happened:

• Towson got off to a fast start with Brian Fobbs converting a layup on the first possession, followed by a steal and score by Jordan McNeil, then a second chance layup on a drive by Jakigh Dottin.  Dennis Tunstall continued the run with a steal in the backcourt, then a free throw, then another Fobbs layup completed the game-opening run at 9-0 through the game's first four minutes.
• Northeastern got on the board with eight consecutive points, a run ended by Nakye Sanders netting a free throw off an offensive board and Allen Betrand putting the missed second attempt back for a 12-8 Towson lead with 12:23 left in the first half.
• Towson went up by five late as Solomon Uyaelunmo notched a layup on the fast break to push the Tigers up 16-11.  After an exchange of baskets, NU went ahead with three straight field goals.  Fobbs extinguished that streak with a long three to make it 22-21 NU with just over seven minutes to go in the 1^st.
• After NU went up by nine, Betrand scored the half's final two baskets, including a layup in traffic with 35 seconds left, putting the score at 31-26 NU at the break.
• Each team exchanged baskets in the early going of the second half as Towson looked to the paint for points.  At 16:11 mark, Towson's play in the paint paid off with four field goals in a row, all scored by different Tigers, to pull the home team to a tie game at 40-40 with 13:23 to go.
• The play inside the arc continued to pay dividends as Towson took the lead in the next minute with a McNeil jumper and an Uyaelunmo putback layup.  NU continued to fire away from three and tied the game, followed by a Fobbs one-hand layup.  NU got the lead with a three, then Towson took back the advantage with a deep three from Betrand.  Tobias Howard extended the lead with a layup off a timeout to give the Tigers a 51-47 lead with 9:01 remaining.
• After the Huskies tied the game, McNeil came back down the middle for a soft touch and score with 7:20 left.  Next possession, Tunstall hit a putback, then Howard hit a floater while fouled to complete the 6-0 run and make it 57-51 Towson, 5:47 left in the second.
• Free throws got the Huskies back within a possession.  Fobbs pushed to the baseline and got fouled, hitting two from the line, then Sanders got fouled in transition, leading to a pair of free throw makes to send the lead back to six.  NU hit a three, then Fobbs against responded with a jumper, then two free throws on a later possession.  Towson led 65-58 with just over two minutes left.
• Another NU three pulled the visitors back to within four in the closing minutes.  The Towson defense held off shot after shot and build its lead back to eight in the final 60 seconds.  Towson held the rest of the way for the 75-72 victory.

Up Next:
Towson will have a quick turnaround, hosting the first place team in the CAA, Hofstra, on Saturday at 2 p.m. at SECU.  To purchase or renew your season tickets, calling 1-855-TU-TIGER, email 4tigertix@towson.edu or visit www.towsontigers.com. 
 
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