PITTSBURGH – The Towson University men's basketball team engaged in an exciting, back-and-forth battle at Pittsburgh on Friday night, narrowly falling late 63-59 on Friday night.
 
Towson (2-2) led Pittsburgh (2-2) for nearly 24 minutes as the Tigers were looking for their first-ever win over an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent.  In a game that saw nine lead changes and eight ties, Towson had the lead with three minutes left off a Chase Paar second chance layup, but Pittsburgh got a 6-0 run and held against the Tigers late to get the win.
 
In two games played at Pittsburgh, including in 2017, Towson has fallen by a combined eight points.
 
Key Stats:

• Rebounds with even in the game at 36 each.  Towson had more points in the paint with 24, than Pittsburgh with 20.
• Cam Holden had another career night, leading all players with 25 points, adding seven rebounds and two assists.  Through four games, Holden is averaging 17 points and 9.8 rebounds a game, shooting 54.3% from the field.
• Nicolas Timberlake notched 12 points while Terry Nolan Jr. had 11 points, five assists and two steals.
• For Pittsburgh, Nate Santos was 4-for-8 from three for 14 points and two steals.  Dan Oladapo and Jamarius Burton each scored 11.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "This was a hard-fought game, Pittsburgh is physical, athletic and well-coached.  I was disappointed with our defense down the stretch, but we had a lot of good looks on shots.  Very good game, credit to them."
 
How It Happened:

• Towson got the early in the opening seconds off the tip on an in-bounds play to Nicolas Timberlake for the layup.  Later, Cam Holden knocked down the wing three to make it 5-0 Towson just over two minutes in.
• Pitt looked to power its way into the paint early, picking up baskets from John Hugley and Dan Oladapo.  Towson kept the advantage with perimeter shooting, using a Timberlake three to go up 10-5 in the first four minutes.
• After Pittsburgh tied the game up, defenses took over for the following minutes as each side tried to get through the other's man-to-man.  Chase Paar got fouled and hit the front end to send Towson back ahead, then later, another Holden three built the lead to 14-10 as the Tigers held the Panthers without points for over five minutes.
• Continuing to primarily go into the paint, Pitt got a 7-0 run with baskets from three different players. 
• Pittsburgh held the lead until back-to-back baskets from Holden and Timberlake pushed Towson ahead at the 5:42 mark in the 1^st.  Towson's defense continued to hold and force turnovers, adding free throws from Terry Nolan Jr. and another Holden basket made it 24-18 Tigers with 3:21 left in the half.
• Pittsburgh got back to within one, but Towson finished the half strong as Jason Gibson drew a charge on a Pittsburgh fast break.  Holden buried a long three with seven seconds left in the 1^st to give Towson a 29-26 lead at the break.
• Towson had energy to begin the second half, beginning with Nolan stealing the ball up top the arc and racing for the layup.  After a Pittsburgh layup, Antonio Rizzuto, limited in the first due to fouls, buried a corner three, then added a free throw to build the Towson lead to 35-28 in the half's first two minutes.
• Following an exchange of baskets, including a thunderous dunk by Timberlake, Pittsburgh slowly went on a 6-0 run on close range buckets to retake the lead.  After three minutes without points, Towson regained the lead off a Holden driving layup and one to be up 42-41 with 10:24 to play.
• The defenses continued to battle in the paint as the sides traded the lead again and again with jumpers.  With Pittsburgh up two, Towson retook the lead off an offensive rebound and three in the corner by Nolan.  A free throw from Holden made the score 48-46 with 5:28 to play.
• The back-and-forth continued as Dan Oladapo hit free throws to tie the game, then Timberlake buried the kick-out three to return Towson to the advantage.  Then next possession, Noah Collier hit a layup while fouled and scored the free throws.  Holden free throws were countered by a Collier dunk, then a Chase Paar layup was countered by a William Jeffress jumper.  The Panthers then took the lead on a Femi Odukale three up top the arc to go ahead 58-55 with 2:23 left.
• Neither side could change the score in the next 80 seconds as Pittsburgh later got a free throw to go up four.  Paar got a layup as Towson looked to foul.  Pittsburgh made two free throws, then Holden got a layup again to pull Towson within two, but two more free throws sealed the game for Pittsburgh 63-59.

Inside the Numbers

• 25 points by Cam Holden is the most for a Towson player this season.  It is his eighth career 20+ point game and first at Towson.
• Terry Nolan Jr. has scored in double digits and earned 5+ assists in three games this season.

Next Game:

• Towson returns to SECU Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. to take on Penn.  For ticket information, interested parties may contact the Towson Athletics ticket office by visiting www.towsontigers.com, calling 1-855-TU-TIGER or emailing dkogok@towson.edu.

- TowsonTigers.com –