HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Towson University men's basketball team led by three at halftime against the defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Hofstra but fell 71-58 in Hempstead, New York to start the weekend.
A 7-2 run at the end of the first half, capped by a buzzer beater three by
Nicolas Timberlake, gave Towson the three-point halftime edge. Hofstra went up 16 in the second half as Towson battled back to get within seven, but could not get closer in the final minutes.
Records:
• Towson: 3-6, 2-2 CAA
• Hofstra: 8-6, 4-3 CAA
Key Stats:
- • Zane Martin led Towson in scoring fifth time this season and the third consecutive game with 17 points, adding a team-high four assists. Jason Gibson concluded with 12 points off the bench while Nicolas Timberlake got 10, each hitting a pair of threes. Demetrius Mims and Victor Uyaelunmo shared the team-lead with six rebounds.
- • Towson had 25 bench points to Hofstra's eight, also beating Hofstra in the paint 24-22.
- • The Tiger shot 53.6% in the first half, holding Hofstra to 36.4% in that same span.
- • For Hofstra, each Kvonn Cramer and Jalen Ray finished with 16 points. Isaac Kante had a double-double on 12 points and 12 boards.
Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach
Pat Skerry: "The second half, we were beat on the backboards, and we settled for too many jump shots. Credit to Hofstra, they made a lot of shots from three. Normally one of our trademarks is that we control both backboards, and we didn't do that. We need to do a better job on Rey and Coburn as well as on the glass."
How it Happened:
- • Hofstra hit its first three field goal attempts, including a pair of threes from Tareq Coburn, to lead 8-0 early. After a timeout from Pat Skerry, Towson attacked in the paint, with a Demetrius Mims putback and a Zane Martin fast break layup making it 8-4 Hofstra in the early minutes.
- • Towson continued its efforts for layups, leading to five straight points from Charles Thompson, capped by a putback layup and one. Following a couple of Hofstra free throws, Solomon Uyaelunmo hit a pair of jumpers from the free throw line to give Towson a 13-12 lead with 13:24 left in the first.
- • The back-and-forth continued as Towson countered Hofstra's threes with jumpers. Towson's own three from Nicolas Timberlake, off a pass from Cam Allen, brought the Tigers within one at 20-19, under nine minutes in the period.
- • Hofstra rebuilt the lead to six, then Towson's play from Jason Gibson and Martin added together a 6-0 run to tie the game. The Pride got the advantage back to five with the next two baskets.
- • In the final four minutes of the first half, Towson earned a 7-2 run, capped by a fast break dunk and a buzzer-beating three from Timberlake, to take a 35-32 lead into the locker room.
- • Into the second half, Hofstra again hit its first three attempts from the field to get back the lead before Martin took an in-bound and scored on a drive to the basket. The back and forth continued during the game, with Thompson again hitting a second-chance basket pull Towson within one.
- • The Hofstra three-point barrage continued as Jalen Ray connected on two in a row, followed by another from Kvonn Cramer, to get the home team to lead 52-42 with 12:20 to play.
- • Hofstra continued to build its lead up to 16. Towson kept up the pace in the paint and chipped down to 12 with 8:31 left on a Uyaelunmo layup, making the score 60-48 Hofstra.
- • Despite a proceeding Hofstra layup, Towson was not finished, playing strong defense with the press and piecing together a 7-0 run in the next three minutes with jumpers and free throws to get within seven at the final media.
- • Towson could not get closer and fell to the Pride 71-58.
Inside the Numbers:
- • Zane Martin earned his 57th career double-digit scoring game, including his sixth this year. Jason Gibson had his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game and 14th in his career.
- • Charles Thompson tied a career-high with three blocks. It is the first three-block game for any Tiger this season.
- • Martin is three assists away from 250 in his collegiate career.
- • For the first time in five games, Towson lost the rebounding battle, grabbing 32 to Hofstra's 41.
Next Game:
Towson returns to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex tomorrow to rematch against Hofstra at 2 p.m.
