HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Towson University men's basketball team nearly overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half on the road against the defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion to get within one with 1:20 to play, but narrowly came up short in a 74-69 defeat at Hofstra.
 
Down 14 with 16:44 left, Towson battled with constant plays to the paint and pressure defense, even hold Hofstra without points in a span of almost five minutes.  Potential plays to take the lead or tie the game in the final minutes came up just short.
 
Records:

• Towson: 3-7, 2-3 CAA
• Hofstra: 9-6, 5-3 CAA

Key Stats:

• Zane Martin led Towson in scoring for the fourth straight game, netting 17 points with seven assists.  Nicolas Timberlake had 15 points and a team-best seven rebounds, tying in the latter category with Victor Uyaelunmo.
• Towson outscored Hofstra 35-32 in the second half and won the rebounding battle 35-30.  In addition, Towson went 16-for-18 from the free throw line, with four players making multiple shots on the charity stripe.
• For Hofstra, Tareq Coburn scored 26 points, going 7-for-9 from the three-point line.  As a team, Hofstra hit 12 three-point field goals in 24 attempts.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "I'm proud of how my guys responded in the second half.  Hofstra is an excellent shooting team, but we played the way we needed to play in the last 12-14 minutes, I liked the way the guys battled late.  We need that type of energy and we'll find our footing."
 
How it Happened:

• The two teams started with similar strategies to yesterday as Towson looked mainly to the paint while Hofstra went for threes.  Back-to-back buckets from Solomon Uyaelunmo then a pass to Jason Gibson in the corner for a three made it 7-3 Towson.
• Hofstra's three-point shooting forced a tie game, then Charles Thompson stole a pass on a hedge, sprinting down for the one-hand slam.  Another three then a fast break layup for Hofstra gave the home team a 12-9 advantage with 14:57 left in the first.
• Towson got two points back after a turnaround jumper from Solomon Uyaelunmo, but back-to-back threes from Tareq Coburn put the Hofstra lead to seven.  Zane Martin hit a jumper to stop the run, but Hofstra got the lead back to 10 at 23-13.
• Towson continued to go inside the arc with baskets from Darrick Jones Jr. and Demetrius Mims chipping the deficit to six.  Back and forth the teams went as Hofstra rebuilt the lead to 11 with 3:39 to go in the half.
• Towson got more aggressive on its defense, leading to a 6-0 run off Jakigh Dottin free throws, a Nicolas Timberlake 15-foot jumper and a one-hand runner from Martin to pull within five.  A Jalen Ray three put the score at 42-34 Hofstra at the break.
• Into the second period, Hofstra's strong three-point shooting continued with makes from Coburn and Kvonn Cramer countering Towson's paint play.  A layup from Vukasin Masic made the score 55-41 Hofstra with 16:44 left in regulation.
• At 57-44 Hofstra, the Towson defense held the Pride without points for nearly five minutes.  The Tigers compiled a 7-0 run during that time to cut the deficit to six at 57-51 with just over 10 minutes to play.
• Towson continued to get closer with its pressure defense as Martin and Dottin helped chip away.  Dottin drove to the basket and hit a tough layup to get Towson within four.  After two Hofstra free throws, Victor Uyaelunmo went up strong on a layup, then Martin hit the layup in transition and one to make the score 66-65 Hofstra with 3:20 to play.
• Hofstra got the next two baskets in the paint to get back up by five.  Towson forced its way to its own paint and drew contact as Timberlake and Martin knocked down free throws to get back within one.  Towson had a chance to take the lead with 25 seconds left on a putback, but a foul called on Martin put Hofstra on the line.  The Pride hit free throws, then Towson turned the ball over on a three-point attempt.  Hofstra added two more free throws to win 74-69.

Inside the Numbers:

• Zane Martin earned his 250^th career assist on Victor Uyaelunmo's layup with 3:48 to play.
• Darrick Jones Jr. scored his first career collegiate basket at the 11:22 mark in the first half.
• Martin has scored at least 17 points in six different games this year.
• Nicolas Timberlake earned his third 15+ point game and first in CAA play.

Next Game:
Towson heads to Harrisonburg, Virginia for its next game, taking on James Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m.
 
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