TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team sparkled before a national television audience by cruising to an 89-73 victory over Drexel in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action at SECU Arena Thursday night.
In beating Drexel for the fifth consecutive time at SECU and eighth time in the last nine meetings, Towson never trailed. The Tigers used an early 9-0 burst in the first half as a springboard to its second straight victory.
Towson's dynamic duo of senior
Brian Fobbs and sophomore
Allen Betrand combined for 51 points on 20-for-31 shooting (64.5 percent). The Tigers got scoring from 10 players, dished 17 assists and collected nine steals. Towson also scored 44 points in the paint and made seven 3-pointers.
Sparked by a gallery of snarling defenders, the Tigers sprinted to a 47-25 halftime bulge, held Drexel to 38.5 percent shooting and kept the Dragons scoreless for the final 2 minutes, 5 seconds of the half.
Towson's advantage peaked at 31 points with 12:29 remaining.
Records
Drexel 9-8, 2-2
Towson 8-9, 2-3
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the victory.
"Happy for our guys. We've continued to work and they've been really good with practice and film. Tonight, we made shots and our defense was really good for 30 minutes. Our efforts has been good all year. I think we'll begin to shoot the ball at a much better clip and it was good to see guys make shots tonight."
Fobbs on what helped him score 28 points.
"My mindset was to keep being aggressive and keep shooting the ball. I never worry about if I miss or make them, I just focus on moving to the next play. That's what I did tonight. It did feel good to see some shots going in."
Betrand on how Fobbs' fast start helped him finish with a career-high scoring performance.
"I saw all the action was focused on him. I was able to do what I do and play my game. (Fobbs) is a scoring bucket and anytime he can get off to a hot start like that, it's going to help us win games. I just try to add in where I can."
How It Happened
- Fobbs scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-15 accuracy.
- In finishing with a career-high 23 points, Betrand was an equal opportunity point producer.
- Betrand tallied 11 points in the first half and added 12 after intermission.
- Fobbs got Towson off to a fantastic start by scoring all 14 of his points in the first 12 minutes of the game.
- Towson and Drexel were tied, 7-7, at the first media timeout a little over four minutes into the contest.
- Fobbs gave Towson the lead for good, 9-7, with a basket and it was Tigers from there.
- Fobbs made a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 19-9 lead with 11:31 remaining in the first half.
- Towson's lead never dropped below double digits after that.
- The Tigers closed the first half with a flourish by scoring the final seven points highlighted by steals and baskets from Jason Gibson and Charles Thompson sandwiched around a Betrand triple.
- Jakigh Dottin packaged eight points and six rebounds in 18 minutes.
- Nakye Sanders added seven points, seven rebounds and a career best five assists.
- Drexel's Camren Wynter scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half.
- Coletrane Washington netted 15 of his 17 points after intermission for the Dragons.
- James Butler added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Inside the Numbers
- In three career games against Drexel, Fobbs has scored at least 20 points.
- This was the fourth time this season and 16th time in his career that Fobbs scored 20 or more points.
- This was the sixth straight game that Betrand has scored in double figures.
- Through five CAA games, Betrand leads Towson in conference scoring (18.2 points per game).
- This was Betrand's 13th game this season and the 17th time in his career, he's hit for double figures.
- Betrand has scored in double figures after halftime in six straight games.
- Dennis Tunstall blocked his 98th career shot to move into eighth place all-time in program history.
- Tunstall also finished with five rebounds.
- This was the 12th time this season that Sanders has finished with at least six rebounds in a game.
- In its last two games, Towson has held UNCW and Drexel to an average of 23 points in the first half.
- Dottin has grabbed six rebounds in three of Towson's five CAA games this season.
- Betrand, Fobbs and Dottin had three assists each for the Tigers.
- This was the fourth time in Drexel's last five visits to SECU Arena that Towson has led by double digits at intermission.
- Gibson had a career best three steals.
- Towson averaged 1.38 points per possession.
- The Tigers turned 11 Drexel turnovers into 18 points.
- Towson improved to 2-2 on national TV this season and 1-0 on CBS Sports Network.
Up Next
- Towson hosts Delaware at 2 p.m.
Autism Awareness/Coaches Powering Forward Weekend
- Towson will host the College of Charleston at SECU Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.
- That game will the Tigers' annual Autism Awareness contest and Coaches Powering Forward weekend.
