ALBANY, N.Y. – The Towson University men's basketball team thoroughly dominated the second half of play en route to a 77-56 victory in the season opener at UAlbany on Tuesday night.
 
Up seven at the half and facing an upstate New York crowd of 4,215, Towson (1-0) used strong defense and a 26-6 run in the second period to sprint past UAlbany (0-1) and win its first road season opener since 2016.
 
Four Towson players, including three in their first year with the program, earned double digit points.  As a team, Towson held the Great Danes to 35.8% shooting in the game.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson dominated in the paint, scoring 42 points down low to UAlbany's 22. Towson also outrebounded UAlbany 45-28 in the contest.  The big different came on points off turnovers, as Towson scored 21 off 14 UAlbany turnovers, including 10 steals.
• Terry Nolan Jr. led all scorers in the game with 17 points off 6-for-11 shooting, adding five assists, two steals and four rebounds.  Cam Holden earned his first double-double as a Tiger in his first Towson game with 15 points and a team-high 11 boards going 7-for-9 from the field.  Off the bench, Jason Gibson notched 14 points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.
• Former UAlbany guard and current Tiger Antonio Rizzuto earned 11 points in his return to SEFCU Arena.
• For UAlbany, De'Vondre Perry had a team-high 11 points off 5-for-7 on field goals.  Justin Neely tallied up eight points and five rebounds off the bench.

Postgame Quote:
Towson head coach Pat Skerry: "I'm proud of our guys, we played a great second half tonight in an awesome environment. We hang our hat of defense and rebounding, and this is a group that can share it and shoot it. This is a type of game when you play tough, it benefits you later on."
 
How It Happened:

• Towson focused on the paint in the early going of the game, with Charles Thompson knocking down a pair of turnaround hook shots to give Towson an early 4-2 advantage.  Towson continued to attack down low, leading Thompson to a third field goal then a setup from Antonio Rizzuto to Chase Paar for an 8-7 Towson advantage at the first media.  Following the timeout, Jason Gibson buried a long three to make it 11-7 Towson, 4:20 in.
• UAlbany got chances at the free throw line and took the advantage at 13-12.  Towson took back the lead with shooting from the perimeter, with kick-out threes from Terry Nolan Jr. and Juwan Gray putting Towson back ahead 18-15 at the second media.
• Defense was picking up in the game, with Towson being held without points for over three minutes.  UAlbany took the lead, but then a steal and second chance score by Cam Holden tied the game at 20-20.
• Back and forth the teams went as the teams exchanged the lead with close range baskets.  Two baskets in a row from Gibson pushed Towson back in front 28-26 with 4:39 left in the 1^st.
• Towson held UAlbany to just one basket in a span of three minutes.  Towson used fast breaks to rebuild the lead, as a steal and score from Holden followed, a blitz attack and layup from Rizzuto then a second chance three from Gibson ended an 8-0 Towson run as the Tigers led 39-30.  UAlbany got two late free throws as Towson led 39-32 at the break.
• Holden took over in the early minutes of the second half, powering his way towards the basket for six points in the opening 3:04 of the period.  Towson's lead got to 11 at 48-37 at that mark.
• UAlbany got back to within seven, which was put back to 10 on a layup and one by Rizzuto.  Rizzuto got back in the paint and took a hard foul on a shot, hitting both free throws to return Towson's lead to 12 at 54-42 with 13:14 to play.
• Towson's defense kept holding as the Tigers kept on the attack on offense.  The Tiger run continued to 26-6, including long threes from Gibson and Nolan, to lead 74-46 with 6:44 left.  Nolan added some high-flying dunks, continuing the run and dazzling the crowd.
• Towson played many of its reserves in the late minutes and earned the 77-56 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Terry Nolan Jr. earned his 43^rd career double digit scoring game and first with Towson.  Antonio Rizzuto  notched his 33^rd double digit scoring game in his collegiate career, also his first for Towson.
• Cam Holden earned his seventh career double-double and first with Towson.
• Rahdir Hicks, Tyler Coleman and Tyler Gill made their collegiate debut tonight.  Hicks played over 13 minutes with three assists and three steals.
• Towson's last season opening victory on the road came on Nov. 12, 2016, a 67-61 win at George Mason.
• This was the first-ever meeting between Towson and UAlbany.

Next Game:

• Towson's home opener is set for Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. vs. Monmouth.  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 –