LAS VEGAS – The Towson University men's basketball team nearly came back from double digits to pull within a possession with two minutes left against San Francisco, ranked the No. 6 mid-major in the country, but came up just short in a 71-61 defeat in the Las Vegas Invitational.
 
Towson (3-3) got to within three points, after previous being down 14 in the first half, after a Terry Nolan Jr. three-point basket with two minutes to play, but San Francisco (7-0) held the lead and got the win.
 
With the result, Towson will play New Mexico tomorrow at the Orleans Arena at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) on FS2.
 
Key Stats:

• In a battle of two strong rebounding teams, Towson outrebounded San Francisco 32-31 in the contest.  Towson also notched 17 points off turnovers to USF's 10.
• Cam Holden nearly had his fourth double-double of the year with 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals.  Terry Nolan Jr. led all Towson players with 15 points, adding two steals while Nicolas Timberlake finished with 14 points.
• For USF, Jamaree Bouyea led all players with 20 points, also having nine rebounds and five assists.  Yauhen Massalski finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

How It Happened:

• Towson looked to control San Francisco's three-point shooting early, trying to force turnovers at the perimeter.  Five early points from Cam Holden gave Towson the advantage 9-7 over USF 3:30 in.
• A three-pointer by Yauhen Massalski sparked a 9-0 run for USF over the next couple of minutes to put the Dons up by seven.  Towson continued going into the paint, with a Chase Paar drive and dunk then a fast break layup by Radhir Hicks pulling Towson within three at 16-13 with 10:35 left in the 1^st.
• USF continued its outside threats, with Jamaree Bouyea getting five straight points.  Terry Nolan Jr. stopped the run with free throws as Nicolas Timberlake added a few more free throws, but more three-point baskets by USF made it 27-17 USF with 5:41 to play in the 1^st.
• USF got its lead to 14, then Towson finished the half strongly with play in the paint.  Nolan got a layup in transition then got fouled for a couple of free throws, adding a Timberlake jumper to complete the 6-0 run.  USF got back up by 12, then a late three-pointer by Holden made it 39-30 at the break.
• Towson continued to push going into the second half, finding room in the paint for points.  A steal, sprint and score from Hicks brought Towson within five at 41-36 2:20 into the period.
• Defenses picked up in the following minutes, but USF rebuilt the lead to 10.  Paar hit a putback layup, then get fouled next possession to hit a couple of free throws.  Later, layup in transition by Derrick Jones Jr. brought Towson within six at 50-44 with 11:20 to play.
• The teams continued to trade points as Towson countered shots from Bouyea with free throws from Paar and Timberlake.  Then with 7:44 to play, Timberlake drove for a contested layup to make it 55-50 USF.
• USF continued to lead as the Dons got the lead up to nine.  Hicks got fouled and hit a front end free throw, with Charles Thompson getting the putback layup.  Next possession, Nolan buried the wing three to get the Tigers within a possession at 63-60 with two minutes left.
• Towson could not get closer in the game as USF scored on its next three possessions.  Despite a late free throw by Nolan, San Francisco got the victory 71-61.

Inside the Numbers

• This is the second straight year where Towson and San Francisco have played in a casino area on Thanksgiving.
• Cam Holden has earned at least nine rebounds in five of six games this season.  He has double digit points in every game thus far this year.
• Terry Nolan Jr. earned his 47^th career double digit scoring game.

- TowsonTigers.com –