BOSTON – With one final flourish, Towson applied the cherry on top of a beautiful regular season to remember by controlling the final six minutes to defeat Northeastern, 75-72, in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) men's basketball barnburner at antiquated Matthews Arena Sunday afternoon before a national television audience.
After losing their first three conference games this season, the Tigers' character sustained them through that adversity and provided the strength needed to finish the season strong by winning 13 of their final 16 games, the best of any CAA team.
Through two months of blood-stained jerseys, cramping muscles, bone-weary fatigue, through body-banging bouts beaneath the boards, through knee skinning scrambles for loose balls, the passionate and resilient Tigers worked hard, stayed positive, trusted each other and played with vibrant energy.
Of course this one wasn't easy.
This topsy-turvy struggle was filled with tension, turbulence and ultimately triumph.
Trailing by five points with less than seven minutes remaining, Towson University head men's basketball coach
Pat Skerry gathered his players and made an impassioned plea to "Strain." It's been the theme for the Tigers this season. Glowering at his players, Skerry encouraged his troops by clapping his hands and speaking loudly in his trademark Boston accent. Message received.
The Tigers broke from that huddle by scoring nine straight points to take a four-point lead. It was the perfect time for Towson to enjoy its 22nd scoring run of at least nine consecutive points this season.
Towson's 19th victory wasn't secured until it survived Northeastern's potential game-tying wide-open 3-point shot attempt from the top of key as the final buzzer sounded. The Tigers closed the contest on a 17-9 run to earn a season split with the Huskies, who were a handful despite missing second leading scorer Tyson Walker.
Once the ball bounced harmlessly away, Towson had its first victory at Matthews Arena since 2016, secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament and won its seventh conference road game for the first time in program history.
The Tigers reward for their strain is a high-stakes rematch against sixth-seeded Northeastern in the CAA Tournament quarterfinal next Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
Freshman
Jason Gibson and
Brian Fobbs led Towson with 18 points each and they combined to score 10 of the Tigers final 17 points. Fobbs started the run with a short jumper. Gibson gave the Tigers the lead for good, 70-67, with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:24 remaining.
With a career best five triples, Gibson enjoyed a Boston Three Party.
Quotable
Gibson on his shot that gave Tigers for good.
"The play was actually supposed to go to (
Nakye Sanders) in the post. After setting the screen for him, I ended up being wide open at the top. I was feeling it throughout the game, so the shot felt good when it left my hands."
Gibson on what turned the game around for them down the stretch.
"It felt really nice to get this road win. I think it shows a lot of toughness we have. I think what helped us win this game was us staying together even when things weren't going our way. We fought all the way until the end."
How It Happened
- Northeastern opened the second half by making 11 of its 15 shots before being slowed by Towson's defense.
- The Huskies made four of their final 12 shots to close the contest.
- Gibson made three of his 3-pointers in the final 7:19.
- After trailing 63-58 with 6:22 remaining, Towson made four of its final five shot attempts.
- Nicolas Timberlake and Jakigh Dottin scored all nine of their combined points in the second half.
- Charles Thompson scored six of his eight points in the first half to help Towson to a 34-27 halftime edge.
- During a 45 second sequence in the first half, Thompson had two dunks, a steal and drew a charge.
- Jordan Roland led four Huskies in double figures with 25 points.
- Bolden Brace and Maxime Boursiquot scored 14 points each for the Huskies.
- Shaquille Walters had 12 points and nine assists.
Inside the Numbers
- Towson ended the season by winning its final three games and seven of its last eight road contests.
- This was the fourth time under head coach Pat Skerry that Towson has won at least 19 games.
- The 12 CAA victories are the most since the 2013-14 squad won 13 league games.
- This is the third time under Skerry that Towson finished with at least 12 league victories.
- Towson improved to 16-2 this season when shooting at least 43 percent.
- The Tigers made 49 percent (25-for-51) of their shots against the Huskies.
- Dennis Tunstall had three blocked shots to raise his career total to 120.
- This was Tunstall's 36th career game with at least two blocked shots.
- This was the 27th time this season and the 54th time in his career that Fobbs scored double figures.
- Fobbs raised his career point total to 1,062 to move past Roger Dickens and into 23rd place on the all-time Towson scoring list.
- This was the 34th career game in which Fobbs made multiple 3-pointers.
- Fobbs also led Towson with six rebounds, his fifth straight game with at least that many caroms.
- Gibson reached double digits for the 10th time this season.
- Sanders, who finished with 12 points, was 8-for-12 from the foul line.
- This was Sanders' 11th game this season and the 30th of his career scoring double figures.
- Towson has the 10th best win improvement in the nation.
- The Tigers ended the season leading the CAA in rebounding margin for the sixth straight year.
- One of the oddities of life is each time Towson has finished as the No. 3 seed under head coach Pat Skerry it has opened the CAA Tournament against No. 6 seed Northeastern in 2016 and 2017.
Up Next
- The 2020 Hercules Tires CAA Men's Basketball Championship.
