TOWSON, Md. – Brian Fobbs scored early and often to fuel the Towson University men's basketball team to a 66-59 victory over James Madison in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest Saturday afternoon at SECU Arena.
In starting a critical three-game homestand on the right foot, Fobbs poured in 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting to lead the Tigers, who used their defense to snap a three-game skid to James Madison. This was the third time in Towson's last four games that Fobbs has scored at least 20 points. It was the sixth time this season that Fobbs topped the 20-point mark.
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the victory.
"This a good win for us. I mean, any win in this league is a good win. I am proud of our guys. They've been working hard. I think our best basketball is still ahead of us. Our defense was excellent today. That's where we pride ourselves and we only had one turnover in the second half. As for Brian, anytime you can get 29 points on 15 shots, that's impressive. His passing was good and they had no answers for him."
Towson redshirt junior Nakye Sanders on what made the difference in the second half.
"I feel like we played better defense in the second half. Our energy was high and on offense, we were looking for each other around the rim."
Fobbs on his offense in the post today.
"My assistant coaches told me to look for more post opportunities today because it was wide open. I just looked for it more and Jordan (McNeil) was feeding me a few times. I was trying to be aggressive down there and score and when they doubled, I was able to find my teammates."
How It Happened
- Fobbs also finished with five rebounds.
- Sanders added nine points and a team best eight rebounds in 26 minutes.
- Jordan McNeil sank a pair of 3-pointers to finish with nine points.
- McNeil's 3-pointer off of a Fobbs pass gave Towson the lead for good, 51-48 with 7:25 remaining starting a 14-4 Towson burst over a four minute stretch that featured seven points from Fobbs.
- Tobias Howard, Jr. scored eight points.
- Dennis Tunstall overcame foul trouble to grab seven rebounds in 18 minutes.
- JMU started the game by making its first four 3-point shot attempts,
- Towson's defense limited James Madison to 2-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc over the final 36 minutes.
- Towson's defense also held JMU scoreless for over seven minutes during a stretch that bridged the first and second halves.
- During that time, the Tigers turned a 30-23 deficit with 3:25 remaining in the first half into a 34-30 edge with 15:43 left.
- The offensive highlight during the run was Tunstall's running dunk down the lane off of a Sanders pass that gave the Tigers a 31-30 lead early in the second half.
- Towson opened the second half by scoring eight consecutive points.
- James Madison's Stuckey Mosley scored all 14 of his points in the opening half.
- Matt Lewis (13 points) and Darius Banks (11 points) also reached double figures for the Dukes.
Inside the Numbers
- Towson had nine assists on its 15 baskets in the second half.
- Towson limited James Madison to 39.3 percent shooting, the second consecutive opponent it has held below 40 percent shooting.
- The Tigers shot 51.1 percent, the second time in their last three games they hit at least half of their shots.
- In outscoring JMU 40-29 in the second half, Towson shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26).
- The Tigers averaged an efficient 1.33 points per possession in the second half.
- Towson finished with five blocked shots.
- This was the third time in its last five games, Towson has rejected at least five shots.
- James Madison had 13 offensive rebounds, the most TU has allowed to a CAA opponent.
- JMU won the rebounding battle, 39-31.
- The game featured seven ties and five lead changes.
- This was the ninth time this season Towson has made at least seven 3-pointers.
- Tunstall and Sanders had two blocked shots each.
- Sanders and Howard finished with a team best three assists each.
- All nine players who saw action for Towson scored.
- Towson has held its last two opponents below 60 points.
Up Next
- Towson continues its homestand by hosting Delaware on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.
- The Tigers will be celebrating their Helper Helper national championship throughout the evening.
