TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University men's basketball team rode tremendous performances by Cam Holden and Terry Nolan Jr. en route to a 76-61 victory over Penn on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Towson (3-2) led by as many as 32 over Penn (3-5) late in the second half, earning its third game this season with at least 75 points scored.
 
The dynamic duo of Holden and Nolan earned career days each: Holden nearly had a triple-double off 20 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists, still notching his third double-double in five games for Towson.  Nolan earned a new career-high in points with 25 off 10-for-18 shooting, surpassing his previous career-high of 24 vs. Towson while with George Washington on Dec. 5, 2018.
 
Key Stats:

• Leading by 11 at halftime, Towson outscored Penn 39-18 in the opening 13:08 of the second period.  Penn had a late scoring run, but Towson led by at least 15 points the rest of the way.  Towson shot 51.7% from the field in the game, including 60% in the second half.
• Towson dominated the paint with 44 points down low, surpassing the most this season after having 42 at UAlbany, to Penn's 24.
• Charles Thompson nearly got double digit scoring, finishing with nine points and two steals.  Nicolas Timberlake had eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
• For Penn, Jonah Charles was the team's leading scorer with 21 off 8-for-14 shooting while Jonah Charles got nine points, six boards and two assists.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "Very good team effort, especially from Cam and Terry today.  Penn is a very good team, they are a hard team to guard.  We are sharing the ball well as a team."
 
How It Happened:

• The game started out very even, with a couple of exchanges on baskets.  Layups by Chase Paar and Nicolas Timberlake gave Towson the lead 8-5 in the opening five minutes.
• Penn was mainly trying to get shots from the perimeter while Towson focused on the paint.  A long range three by Max Martz with 9:28 left in the first gave Penn a 15-14 advantage.
• Towson countered with quick attacks to the basket, getting layups and trips to the free throw line.  Points from Charles Thompson, Terry Nolan Jr., Cam Holden and Chris Biekeu led to an 11-0 run to give Towson the lead 25-15 with 6:29 left in the 1^st.
• The teams traded baskets in the final minutes of the half, with a three off a turnover from Nolan with 33 seconds left in the first put the score at 34-23 at the half.
• Towson got off to a fast start in the second period, holding Penn to three points in the opening 4:43.  The Tigers netted seven baskets plus a pair of free throws to begin the half on a 17-3 run, capped by a corner three from Nolan to push the score to 51-26 Towson.
• The lead increased to 29 as Holden kept getting boards and set up the offense the other way.  Two straight baskets by Timberlake, including a thunderous dunk, made Towson's advantage 64-35 with 11:39 to play.
• As the defense continued to hold Penn in check, two more paint field goals by Paar and Nolan built Towson's lead to a game-best 32 at 73-41.
• Penn started to chip away with outside shots, including three late baskets from Jordan Dingle.  Towson held the advantage the rest of the way to take the 76-61 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• According to basketball reporter Patrick Stevens, Cam Holden's day of 20 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists is the first since Norris Cole of Cleveland State had 41 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists vs. Youngstown State on Feb. 12, 2011.
• Holden earned career-highs in each rebounds (19) and assists (8).  He has also scored at least 20 points in each of the last two games, scoring 25 at Pittsburgh last Friday.
• This is the first time where Towson has two players with at least 20 points since Feb. 6, 2021, when Zane Martin had 34 and Charles Thompson had 20 at Charleston.
• Nolan has notched double digit scoring in 46 career games while Holden has in 21 career games.
• Towson has won its last two games against Penn.

Next Game:

• Towson takes flight to Las Vegas for two games over the Thanksgiving break, beginning with a contest vs. San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 25^th at 9:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT) on FS1.  The game will be played at the Orleans Arena.

- TowsonTigers.com –