TOWSON, Md. – Delivering a quick second-half scoring strike,
Jakigh Dottin stirred the Towson University men's basketball team from its torpor and catapulted it to a 71-55 victory over Regent in a non-conference contest Wednesday night at SECU Arena.
Dottin's muscle-ripped and perspiring physique was a blur of activity -- tallying six consecutive points -- during an electrifying 75-second stretch of the second half. A burst that was highlighted by his first career dunk, a two-handed rim-rocker that had fans tingling with excitement.
The sophomore guard scored 10 of his career best 14 points in the second half as the Tigers found their groove to earn their 15th victory of the season. Dottin's performance was a perfect complement to senior forward
Nakye Sanders' game-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Sanders was a reliable frontcourt force during his 22 minute stint.
Dottin and Sanders combined to score 21 of Towson's 40 second half points. Most of Towson's excellence occurred after Regent closed to within 39-36 three minutes into the second half thanks to the Royals' 4-for-5 shooting effort immediately after intermission.
Towson gradually gained control with a 20-4 run over an eight-minute period during which Dottin delivered eight entertaining points and an assist that led to a
Dennis Tunstall 3-pointer. One of Dottin's baskets was a nice euro-step move into the lane in which he finished over a cluster of blue-shirted Royals. That was a prelude to his dunk, which occurred 49 seconds later.
This game was scheduled after Towson's original contest on the road against Cornell on Dec. 1 was canceled five hours before tip-off with the Tigers already in Ithaca.
Records
Regent 3-14 overall
Towson 15-11
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on Towson's performance.
"It's good to get a win. I though we rebounded the ball well and had a good push for about 10 minutes in the second half. I though Jakigh gave us a good burst. Jakigh and Charles (Thompson) sacrificed a lot this year in order for us to have success. We'll need both of them moving forward. I thought Nakye was good and he did what he was supposed to do."
Dottin on providing a spark during the second half.
"Coming in off the bench, I see the energy of the game and it's my job to go in and change that. We approached this game the same way as we did any other this season. We're fighting harder, straining more and we're more connected as a team. I think playing today was beneficial for us and it was another opportunity."
Inside the Numbers
- Dottin and Sanders teamed up to score nine of Towson's first 13 points of the game.
- Allen Betrand had eight points and Brian Fobbs added seven points for Towson.
- Betrand's basket with 15:25 remaining in the first half gave Towson the lead for good, 6-4.
- Betrand's basket was part of a 13-0 Towson run.
- It was the 19th time this season the Tigers scored nine or more consecutive points during a game.
- Sanders, who had two of Towson's four dunks, and Tunstall led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
- Fobbs added six rebounds, three steals and three assists.
- Towson improved to 6-0 when three players have at least six rebounds.
- Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson all had five rebounds. It was the second straight game the Tigers had at least five players finish with that amount.
- Greg Cross scored his first basket as a Tiger with 2:30 remaining off of a nice pass from Chris Caliguiran.
- Tunstall and Thompson had two blocked shots each.
- Tunstall raised his career blocked shot total to 109.
- The Tigers have led by double digits at some point in seven straight home games.
- Towson improved to 8-4 at home.
- The Tigers improved to 11-0 against non-Division I opponents under head coach Pat Skerry.
- This was the sixth time in Skerry's nine years that Towson has won at least 15 games.
- Towson's defense limited Regent to 5-for-22 shooting (22.7 percent) in the final 17 minutes.
- Damon Hammock-Fitzgerald led the Royals with 12 points and seven rebounds.
- Andrew Walston, who made a team best three 3-pointers, added 11 points.
- Vincent Reed-Berry and Kristopher Warren (six rebounds) finished with eight points each for the Royals.
Up Next
- Towson returns to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action when it visits James Madison Saturday night at 8 p.m.
