WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Tasked with taking on the first-place team in the CAA, the Towson University men's basketball team extended its winning streak to six games with a decisive 70-58 victory at William & Mary on Saturday afternoon.
Towson never trailed as it handed W&M its first home loss of the season in front of a raucous crowd in Williamsburg. The Tigers saw three players score at least 16 points.
The Tigers earn their first six-game winning streak since the 2017-18 campaign and the first time winning six games in a row in conference play since the 2016-17 season.
Towson moves into a tie for second place in the CAA at 6-3, just a game behind W&M at 7-2.
Records:
- Towson – 12-9 overall, 6-3 CAA
- William & Mary – 15-7 overall, 7-2 CAA
Key Stats:
- Jason Gibson earned a career-high 21 points off 7-for-12 shooting. Brian Fobbs netted 17 points, adding five rebounds and three assists while Allen Betrand tallied 16 points, also shooting 7-for-12 from the field.
- Up front, Dennis Tunstall blocked four shots, grabbed eight rebounds and forced two steals, adding two points. Nakye Sanders finished up with nine points, three assists and six boards.
- As a team, Towson outrebounded the Tribe 31-24 and held the home team to 34.8% shooting in the second half. In total, Towson shot 53.1% on field goals, including 63% in the opening half, and held W&M to 44%, including 19% on three-point shooting. The Tigers also took advantage of 12 second chance points, allowing just two to the Tribe.
- For W&M, Nathan Knight was the leading scorer with 20 points and tied for the team rebounding lead with six. Andy Van Vilet concluded with 10 points and six rebounds.
Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach
Pat Skerry: "This is a great team win, our guys really stuck together. The defense was really good in the second half. Our perimeter guys made some tough, tough plays and our forwards made great plays, especially late. It was a great atmosphere today, we found a way to hang in there and execute on offense.
How it Happened:
- Towson got off to a fast start, hitting its first three baskets by Brian Fobbs, Allen Betrand and Jason Gibson for a 6-0 advantage. After the Tribe hit a pair of baskets, the Tigers countered mainly with play in the paint, knocking down four field goals in a row, including a transition basket from Fobbs to Nakye Sanders, to lead 14-5 with 14:57 left in the 1st.
- Towson held the advantage in the coming minutes when W&M got the next three scores to pull within two. Juwan Gray hit a big three off a fake to shake off his defender, making it 21-16 Towson with 9:09 to go in the half.
- W&M pulled to a tie twice at 23 and 25. Towson kept to its offense as Fobbs contributed seven points in a 9-2 Towson run to rebuild the Tiger lead to 34-27 with four minutes left in the period.
- The Tigers continued their strong shooting even as W&M kept close. A big across the arc pass from Fobbs to Gibson on the elbow resulted in a three-point basket by the former as the Tigers got back up by seven. A late layup and one by Nathan Knight for W&M made the halftime score 39-35 Towson.
- Out of the locker room, each side's defense played strongly with neither team getting points in the opening two minutes. Sanders broke the drought with a front end free throw then added a layup next possession. Betrand added a jumper then a second chance close-range shot off an offensive rebounds to give Towson a 7-0 run to begin the second half. Towson was up 46-35 with 16:11 left in the 2nd. The Tiger defense forced W&M to go 0-7 on field goals to begin the period.
- Towson's defense continued to lock down, staying up double digits after a 10-foot jumper by Gibson made it 50-39 with 13:24 to go. W&M got the next six points to pull within five. With the crowd getting loud, Fobbs buried a turnaround jumper, then added two free throws next possession to get the lead back to nine at 54-45 with 10:30 to play.
- As W&M kept trying to chip away, Towson kept its lead with Betrand scoring a jumper for the Black & Gold to be ahead by eight. The home team picked up the next three baskets to make it a one-possession game. Betrand again came through with a tough turnaround jumper to make it 58-54 Towson at six minutes left.
- Following an exchange, Towson held with a one-possession lead. Betrand hit a one-hand runner in the paint, then Fobbs stole a pass and ran down the floor for a dunk. Towson held on defense next possession, then came up with an offensive rebound by Charles Thompson to run more clock. Towson drained more clock, adding two more free throws from Betrand, and led 65-56 with 1:14 to play.
- W&M got a basket following, but Towson's defense kept the Tribe without points in the final minute. Towson took the victory 70-58.
Inside the Numbers:
- In the last two games, Towson has held its opponents to 19% shooting in the final five minutes, with Elon going 3-for-15 (20%) and W&M being 1-for-6 (16.7%), the latter adding six turnovers. In addition, Elon and W&M combined for 32.2% shooting from the field in the second half and 17.2% three-point shooting in the second half.
- Gibson earned his career-high in points, surpassing his 18-point performance vs. Kent State on Nov. 11. He has scored in double figures three times in the last four games.
- This is the second time in the last three contests that Towson has had at least two players with 15+ points. It is the first game where three Towson players had at least 15+ points in a contest that finished in regulation and first time since the overtime victory over Tulane on Dec. 21st.
- Betrand has achieved double digit scoring the past nine games, netting at least at least 16 points in eight of them.
- Fobbs has earned double digit scoring each of the last seven games and 18 total times this year.
- The starting lineup of Betrand-Gibson-Fobbs-Sanders-Tunstall is 6-2 this season.
Next Game:
Towson returns home to face UNC Wilmington on Thursday, Jan. 30
th at 7 p.m. Towson will be recognizing the 1989-90 and 1990-91 NCAA Tournament teams. Tickets for the game are available by calling 1-855-TU-TIGER or emailing
4tigertix@towson.edu.
- TowsonTigers.com –
