TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team made its first nine shots of the second half as part of a huge burst that carried it to a 69-61 victory over James Madison in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest bristling with action Saturday at SECU Arena.
Towson unleashed a devastating 20-3 flashing combination that drilled James Madison with jolting force during the opening five minutes of the second half. It was an electrifying eruption that had everybody in attendance in utter awe of what they were witnessing.
The Tigers terrific triumvirate of
Brian Fobbs,
Allen Betrand and
Nakye Sanders combined to score 41 of Towson's 47 points in the final 20 minutes.
Even though James Madison rode the hot shooting of Darius Banks to slice a 21-point deficit to 57-52 with 93 seconds remaining, Towson made 12 consecutive foul shots to earn its 10th victory and extend its winning streak to four games. The Tigers have the longest winning streak in the CAA.
Towson's defense was superb as it limited James Madison to 31.4 percent shooting (22-for-70) for the game. The Tigers forced JMU into a 1-of-6 shooting start to the second half and a pair of turnovers. Banks scored 22 of his career best 27 points in the final 12 minutes, 30 seconds of the contest.
While Banks was a one-man gang, the Tigers relied on a committee of contributors to take control and separate from a slim 22-18 halftime edge.
Records
James Madison 8-10 overall, 1-6 CAA
Towson 10-9, 4-3
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the game.
"Really good team win. We said at shootaround that our defense would win us the game. Our offense would dictate by how much. Our defense was outstanding and that's a high powered offensive team so to hold them to 31 percent is just really good. I thought for the first 7 or 8 minutes of the second half, we were at a high level and then we hung on."
Sanders on his performance at the start of the second half.
"For me, it was staying the course and making the right plays to help my team. JMU knocked us out of the tournament last year so we had this game marked on our calendar."
Fobbs on the team chemistry after a perfect homestand.
"It feels good and we have a lot of energy in the locker room. We are connected and if we can just keep it going, it'll be helpful."
How It Happened
- Sanders scored nine of his 15 points during the Tigers' opening second half salvo.
- Sanders also added seven rebounds
- Betrand tallied 14 of his 16 points in the second half.
- He opened the floodgates after intermission by making a 3-pointer off of a nice Sanders pass on Towson's opening possession.
- Betrand quelled a late JMU rally by making a difficult baseline shot with 3:36 remaining that relaxed the nerves of the fans and expanded Towson's lead to 57-50.
- Fobbs was 5-of-7 from the field in the second half as he scored 16 of his team best 21 points.
- Jason Gibson added a layup and a perfect pass to Dennis Tunstall for an alley-oop dunk that shook SECU to its core and gave Towson a 34-20 bulge.
- Juwan Gray enjoyed another stellar defensive performance with a team-high eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
- Towson had assists on its first five baskets of the second half and six of its first seven hoops.
- The Tigers generated eight of their 12 assists in the second half.
- Tunstall collected six rebounds as Towson won the battle of the boards, 43-38.
- Towson's defense also limited JMU's Matt Lewis to seven harmless points on 2-for-11 shooting.
- Lewis entered the game sixth in the CAA In scoring with an 18.1 point per game average.
- Lewis and Deshon Parker combined for 12 of JMU's 13 assists.
- Dwight Wilson tallied 10 rebounds for the Dukes, who lost their fourth straight game.
Inside the Numbers
- This was the seventh opponent Towson held below 40 percent shooting this season.
- In its last four games, Towson has held opponents to an average of 21.5 points in the first half.
- The 18 points allowed in the first half was the fewest permitted to a Division I opponent this season.
- Towson scored 11 consecutive points during its 20-3 burst to begin the half.
- It was the 15th time this season that Towson had a scoring run of at least nine straight points.
- This is Towson's longest winning streak against CAA opponents since it won six straight from Feb. 2-18, 2017.
- This was the fifth time this season and 17th time in his career that Fobbs scored at least 20 points in a game.
- Fobbs has scored 20 or more points in two of Towson's last three games.
- Sanders tallied double digits for the sixth time this season and the 25th time in his career.
- Betrand has scored in double figures in eight consecutive contests.
- Betrand has hit for double digits in 15 games this season and 19 for his career.
- Gray has five blocked shots over Towson's last two games.
- Towson shot 60.9 percent (14-for-23) in the second half.
- The Tigers were 20-for-21 from the foul line (95.2 percent).
- Every Tiger who saw action grabbed at least one rebound.
- This was the eighth time this season and fourth CAA game in which Towson finished with at least 40 rebounds.
- This was the fifth game in which Towson had three players grab at least six rebounds.
- When its advantage peaked at 21 points, it marked the third straight game contest in which Towson enjoyed an advantage of 20 or more points.
Up Next
- Towson visits Elon on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.
- The Tigers won at Elon last season.
Next Home Game
- Towson hosts UNCW on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m.
- The Tigers will recognize and celebrate the 1989-90 and 1990-91 NCAA Tournament teams.
