PHILADELPHIA – The defense that carried the Towson University men's basketball team during its seven-game winning streak last month reappeared.
It made Drexel's 10-point advantage and five-game home court winning streak disappear.
Riding the brilliance of Philadelphia native
Allen Betrand and a stretch of individual excellence from
Dennis Tunstall late in the game, Towson rallied for a gritty 76-69 victory over Drexel in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) contest at the Daskalakis Athletic Center Saturday. It was Towson's third straight win over Drexel and its 13th in the last 16 meetings of this series.
Towson's effort and energy in conquering adversity was so strong that if he were human, William Penn, the iconic 37-foot bronze statue who overlooks the city of Brotherly Love from atop City Hall, would've tipped his cap to salute the Tigers as they headed down Interstate 95 following their ultimate team triumph.
Playing in front of numerous family and friends, Betrand scored a career-high 31 points to help Towson shake its two-game slide. Betrand was a singular destructive force, turning the court into Lawncrest Park where he grew up playing in north Philadelphia.
Betrand made 10-of-16 shots to help the Tigers earn their fourth season sweep of Drexel in the last five years. He sealed the victory by making six free throws in the final 21 seconds.
Betrand is a competitor with a genuine love for the game and it showed in the way he smiled throughout the game, encouraged his teammates by consistently clapping his hands and took charge immediately after intermission by scoring five straight points. He did more than score, Betrand also finished with a blocked shot and drew an offensive foul.
Towson senior guard
Brian Fobbs helped with 19 points and the Tigers defense did the rest after intermission, holding to the Dragons to 10 points in the opening 11 minutes.
In its last two games, Towson allowed an average of 82.5 points and 50 percent shooting in falling to the College of Charleston and Delaware. That didn't happen today. Drexel shot 41.4 percent in the second half.
While Towson scored 43 points in the second half on 51.7 percent shooting, Tunstall made sure the shorthanded Tigers enjoyed a happy ending.
In the final four minutes, the redshirt senior took a charge to thwart a Drexel fastbreak and keep the game tied, followed a missed shot to give the Tigers lead for good, 63-61 with 2:16 remaining, set a beautiful screen that allowed Fobbs to sink an open 3-pointer, which expanded their lead to 66-61 as the shot clock expired and blocked a shot.
Helped also arrived in bunches for the Tigers, who got a team-best six rebounds from
Charles Thompson.
Nakye Sanders and
Jason Gibson combined for 15 points.
Jakigh Dottin and
Nicolas Timberlake turned in terrific minutes for the Tigers and made plenty of hidden contributions.
This was the second time in three years that Towson overcame a double-digit deficit to beat Drexel on the road, ironically both happened on Feb. 8.
Quotable
Towson head coach Pat Skerry on Betrand's performance.
"He was absolutely sensational coming back home. Holy smokes, Betrand was good. You know what he told me in the huddle, he said, 'I got this."
Skerry on the overall effort of his team.
"I am proud of our guys today. We played really hard in the second half and that was the difference. Drexel has been elite at home, not just good, but really elite so to be down seven at halftime and come back and get a road win, gives us some life. I challenged the three seniors and I thought they all responded then obviously Timberlake coming in at the four spot and did a good job. I thought
Charles Thompson was really good today. Jakigh gave us some good minutes."
Betrand on Towson's effort and scoring a career-high.
"We really needed this win really bad. To score a career-high points in my hometown is so special to me. Everybody played their part and did what they were supposed to do. Everybody made big shots and that's what we needed. (Dennis) has always been big for us and he showed it again today. He's probably our best defensive player."
Tunstall on what he enjoyed the most during his four-play stretch late in the game and what helped the Tigers overcome a 10-point deficit.
"The best part of that stretch for me was the block because I like blocking shots. I saw the opportunity and I went up and got it. When we're faced with adversity and times come like this, it's a great feeling to be able to help the team win. We continued to fight as a team to get this win today. Coach got on us at halftime, but we turned it around."
Inside the Numbers
- Betrand averaged 27 points during the Tigers two-game road trip this week.
- Betrand reached double digits for the 20th time this season and 24th time in his career.
- Betrand was an equal opportunity scorer, tallying 11 in the first half and 20 after intermission.
- Betrand has scored in double digits in the second half 12 times this season.
- Betrand has made at least two 3-pointers in 12 games this season.
- Betrand has scored in double figures in three of the four career games he's played against Drexel.
- This was the 11th consecutive game in which Fobbs scored in double figures.
- He scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half.
- Fobbs has scored in double figures 22 times this season and 49 times in his career.
- In four career games against Drexel, Fobbs has averaged 22.3 points per contest.
- Towson trailed, 29-19 with 4:53 remaining in the first half.
- It was the largest deficit the Tigers overcame for a victory this season.
- Towson was down 40-33 at halftime. It was the largest intermission deficit overcome this year for a win.
- Gibson blocked his first career shot with 12:12 remaining in the first half.
- Tunstall led the Tigers with two assists.
- This was the seventh time this season that Thompson finished with at least five rebounds.
- In addition to Thompson, Tunstall, Sanders, Timberlake and Fobbs all had five rebounds.
- Timberlake averaged 5.5 rebounds during Towson's two-game road trip.
- Thompson's halfcourt steal and dunk gave the Tigers a 47-46 lead with 12:43 remaining.
- Tunstall has 107 career blocked shots.
- Even though Drexel tied the game at 61 following a Camren Wynter 3-pointer with 3:50 left, Towson never trailed after Thompson's dunk.
- Towson scored nine straight points after Wynter's triple.
- It was the 18th time this season Towson has had a run of nine or more consecutive points in a game.
- The Tigers were 20-for-23 from the foul line and won the rebounding battle, 39-33.
- Towson is 4-2 in CAA road games.
- Wynter scored 16 of his team-high 24 points in the second half.
- Zach Walton finished with 17 points for the Dragons, who had won their last five home games by an average of 14.2 points.
- Every Tiger who played hit the scoring column in the first half.
Up Next
- Towson hosts Regent on Wednesday, February 12 at 7 p.m.
- Located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Regent is a Division I South Region member institution in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association.
- The Royals are 3-13 overall with wins over Carolina Christian College, Warren Wilson and Piedmont International,
