CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Towson University men's basketball team enjoyed some moments of brilliance during its 73-51 setback to 18th-ranked Xavier in the first round of the Charleston Classic at TD Arena Thursday night.
 
Unfortunately, Jakigh Dottin's halfcourt buzzer beater to end the first half, Juwan Gray's fantastic baseline dunk, Dennis Tunstall's fastbreak layup off of a steal to start the game and Nakye Sanders' determined rebounding in heavy traffic weren't enough to slow down the Musketeers.
 
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the game.
"I thought we played a little better in the second half and we got to the foul line. Xavier is good and to beat a team like that, you have to shoot an incredibly high percentage from three and the foul line. We didn't do that, but they had a lot to do with that.
 
On Xavier's defense.
"I thought Xavier was really good coming in and they don't give you a lot of easy buckets. They don't turn it over much. To hurt them, you have make some three's against a team of that caliber. They're hard to score on and have good length. They're not as tall as Florida, but they're built like bowling balls. They're a physical group and it reflects their defensive numbers."
 
Sanders on positives from the loss and playing against Xavier.
"We just have to learn from our mistakes and execute better. I felt great. This was my third game back and I am getting back into game shape. Xavier was a great team and they definitely was in great, built shape, but we were right there with them. The result is not what we wanted, but we know that this experience will make us a stronger team once we start playing conference games."
 
How It Happened

• Towson outscored Xavier, 28-26, in the paint.
• The Tigers also turned 11 offensive rebounds into 12 points.
• Brian Fobbs led Towson with 14 points.
• Allen Betrand added 12 points along with five rebounds.
• Sanders finished with a season best 11 rebounds for Towson, which attempted 18 free throws in the second half.
• Xavier's Tyrique Jones had 12 points and 12 rebounds to lead a balanced attack.
• Jason Carter scored a team-high 13 points.
• Bryce Moore chipped in 12 points and Paul Scruggs contributed 11 points and five assists.
• Carter and Naji Marshall had nine rebounds each for the Musketeers.
• Towson closed to with 33-25 with 16:45 remaining following a Fobbs free throw.
• Moore scored 10 points in less than three minutes during a second-half stretch to help Xavier stay ahead of the Tigers.
• In the first half, Charles Thompson pulled Towson to within, 20-15, with 9:42 remaining.
• Towson led twice, 2-0 and 5-2 following Betrand's corner 3-pointer.
• Xavier, which entered the game shooting 20.9 from 3-point distance, made 9-of-22 from beyond the arc (40.9).

 
Inside the Numbers

• This was the fifth time in Sanders career he finished with double-digit rebounds.
• In Towson's last two games, Betrand has scored 21 of his 26 points in the second half.
• Betrand has scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and eighth time in his career.
• Fobbs has scored in double figures in every game this season.
• This was the 25th time in his career that Fobbs led Towson in scoring.
• Dottin went 66 minutes between turnovers over four games. He has 16 assists and two turnovers this season.
• Tunstall had two blocked shots to raise his career total to 83.
• Tunstall finished with a career best three steals.

 
Up Next

• Towson plays Buffalo on Friday night at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.