HARRISONBURG, Va. – If this was a multiple-choice exam, the answer below would be obvious of why veteran head coach
Pat Skerry was delighted after watching Towson defeat James Madison 63-48 in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest Saturday at the Convocation Center.
A) The Tigers won the rebounding battle, 46-29.
B) The Tigers held the Dukes to 34.5 percent shooting thanks to their endless gallery of snarling and swarming gold-shirted defenders.
C) Towson limited James Madison to 48 points, marking the first time the Tigers held a Division I opponent below 50 points since Northeastern scored 47 on Feb. 11, 2016.
D) Towson won at the Convocation Center for the first time since Feb. 26, 2014, a span of 2,181 days.
E) All the above.
Towson's timeless trinity of rebounding, defense and toughness fueled its third consecutive triumph and 10th win in its last 12 outings. In painting a hardwood masterpiece, the Tigers earned their first sweep over James Madison since 2014.
With the win, Towson moved into a tie for third place with Delaware with two weeks remaining. Delaware currently holds the tie break for the No. 3 seed based on its win over Hofstra. The Tigers and Blue Hens split their season series. Both squads are a half-game behind William & Mary.
Records
Towson 16-11 overall, 9-5 CAA
James Madison 9-16, 2-12
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on the victory.
"This is a big win for us because we've had some tough losses here in the past. We pride ourselves on defensive rebounding and JMU is a hard team to guard. Matt Lewis is an all-league player and Banks really killed us the last time. I really thought our attention to detail on him was good. We rebounded and we guarded. I thought our attention to detail was really good tonight. Our ball movement was good early and we made the extra pass."
Dennis Tunstall on Towson's defensive effort.
"I felt like we were swarming everything. We were hustling on every play, blocking shots and getting steals. A win like this and the way we achieved it definitely boosts our confidence. This was a tough win."
How It Happened
- Led by the brilliance of Brian Fobbs, who scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, the Tigers turned in a total team effort to raise their CAA road record to 5-2 this season.
- The five CAA road wins are the most since Towson won six during the 2013-14 season.
- In scoring 12 points and dishing three assists, Allen Betrand did his damage in a quick burst late in the first half with a pair of 3-pointers in a 45-second span to help Towson take control and a 34-22 lead at intermission.
- The contributions of Fobbs and Betrand were the tip of the iceberg for Towson, which displayed offensive depth that would bring honor to a nuclear submarine.
- Dennis Tunstall was a tour de force with eight points, eight rebounds and a season best four blocked shots.
- Nicolas Timberlake finished with a career best eight rebounds and scored all seven of his points in the second half after James Madison closed to within, 48-39 with 11:16 remaining.
- Timberlake had the highlight of the game when he tipped a long rebound to himself and then dunked it with two hands over a JMU defender.
- Jason Gibson made both of his 3-pointers in the second half in adding nine points.
- Nakye Sanders overcame foul trouble to grab six rebounds for the 18th time this season.
- Charles Thompson tied his career high with nine points in 18 minutes.
- Jakigh Dottin collected three rebounds, one of seven Towson players with at least three boards.
- James Madison got scoring from four players.
- Matt Lewis scored a game-high 24 points and by the time Towson's defensive pressure took effect, his two 3-pointers to open the game and give JMU a 6-0 lead was a distant memory.
- Dwight Wilson scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
- Deshon Parker scored eight points but none after halftime.
- Darius Banks, who burned Towson for 27 points in the first meeting, was held scoreless by Bertrand's dynamite defense.
Inside the Numbers
- This is the sixth time under Skerry that Towson has won at least 16 regular season games.
- This was the 50th career game in which Fobbs has scored double figures.
- Betrand has made at least two 3-pointers in a game 13 times this season.
- Betrand has scored in double figures 21 times this season.
- Tunstall has blocked multiple shots in 34 games during his career.
- Four Tigers scored at least six points in the opening half.
- This was the 11th time this season that Towson has had at least 40 rebounds as a team.
- Towson is 7-0 this season when at least three players have six or more rebounds.
- Towson has enjoyed a double digit advantage over James Madison in five straight games.
- Towson improved to 34-15 in the Pat Skerry era and 6-1 this season when holding a team below 60 points.
- This was the second straight year that Towson held a double-digit halftime lead at the Convocation Center.
- Lewis and Parker combined to score 22 of James Madison's 24 first half points.
- Wilson scored JMU's first 12 points of the second half.
- This was the second time that James Madison, which plays at the seventh fastest pace in the country, was held below 50 points this season.
- Playing its final game ever at the Convocation Center, this was the fewest points Towson had allowed JMU. The previous low was 60 in 2007.
- James Madison made two of its final 12 shots from the field.
Up Next
- Towson hosts second-place William & Mary Thursday at 7 p.m.
