UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Towson University men's basketball team, tasked with taking on the No. 4 ranked team in the country in Virginia, had a strong second half push but fell to the Cavaliers 89-54.
 
Towson started the second half with an 8-0 run, including a pair of threes from Nicolas Timberlake, to attempt a comeback, but could not bridge the gap against Virginia.
 
Records:

• Towson – 0-1 overall
• #4 Virginia – 1-0 overall

Key Stats:

• Nicolas Timberlake led Towson with career-highs of 19 points and five three-point baskets.  Jason Gibson hit his first three shots to finish with nine points while Zane Martin got six points, three assists and two rebounds.  Towson's leading rebounder was Victor Uyaelunmo with six.
• Eleven different Tigers earned points today while ten Tigers had at least one rebound.
• Towson led in fast break points with seven to UVA's four.
• For Virginia, Trey Murphy III went 6-for-8 from three for 21 points.  Sam Hauser tallied up 19 points and eight rebounds.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "We're grateful to be playing, but we have a lot of work to do.  There are some things that we will need to get better at defensively.  You hope to be a deep team, especially in this pandemic season; we'll play some games here and come out of it with an idea of where we are at."
 
How it Happened:

• Each side traded a basket on their opening chances, with Jason Gibson netting the three off an offensive rebound from Charles Thompson for a 3-3 tie score in the opening minute.
• A 9-0 run put UVA in front.  Towson's defense started to make strong plays, including a Victor Uyaelunmo block on a layup attempt.  A fast break attack and score from Gibson brought Towson within 10 at 21-11 UVA.
• Towson tried to keep with UVA, having points from Demetrius Mims and Cam Allen later in the half.  A couple of late threes for Virginia made it 42-19 at the break.
• After halftime, the Tigers got rolling with their guards as Zane Martin hit a layup for his first points in his return.  Then, Nicolas Timberlake hit back-to-back corner threes to complete an 8-0 run, pulling Towson to 42-27 UVA in the opening minutes of the second half.
• Back-and-forth the teams went as Towson countered a small UVA run with Gibson free throws and another three from Timberlake pulled the Tigers back within 15.
• Martin hit a couple of big shots, a jumper while shaking off a defender and a layup in traffic, keeping Towson within 15.
• Towson saw Jakigh Dottin and Charles Thompson make baskets late, but UVA's lead proved too strong.  The Cavaliers kept the lead the rest of the way and won 89-54.

Inside the Numbers:

• Towson learned it was facing No. 4 Virginia yesterday for the first time due to schedule-changing in the Bubbleville.
• Several players scored their first career points with Towson: Cam Allen, Chris Biekeu, Darrick Jones Jr., Demetrius Mims and Victor Uyaelunmo.
• This was the second time in three seasons where Towson opened against Virginia.
• Earlier today, Juwan Gray was named the team captain for the 2020-21 season.

Next Game:
Towson is back to the Mohegan Sun Arena tomorrow against San Francisco at 3:30 p.m.  The game will be broadcast on FloSports (video) and TowsonTigers.com (radio).
 
- TowsonTigers.com –