COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Towson University men's basketball team gave a strong challenge to No. 21/22 Ohio State, leading nearly 11 minutes of the first half and keeping close most of the contest, but fell late in Columbus 85-74.
 
In the first half, Towson (6-4) outrebounded Ohio State (7-2) 15-12 and saw seven different players score as the Tigers were down just one at the break.  The Tigers went back-and-forth with the Buckeyes at the start of the second half, with the Buckeyes taking the lead five minutes into the period.  Strong shooting from Cam Holden and Jason Gibson kept Towson in the game, but Ohio State pulled away late for the win.
 
With the defeat, Towson's three-game winning streak comes to a close.  Towson leaves Ohio with a victory over Kent State last Monday.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson had strong transition play, earning 20 points off turnovers to OSU's 12.  Towson's aggressive defense forced nine steals to OSU's three.
• Half of Towson's field goals made were from three-point range, tying a season-high of 12 three-point baskets.
• Coming off the bench, Jason Gibson led all players in the game with 19 points off 7-for-11 shooting, including 12 in the second half of play.  Cam Holden also had a strong second half, scoring 13 of his 16 points in that period.
• Terry Nolan Jr. notched a career-high in assists with 10, adding seven points and three steals.  Antonio Rizzuto put up 10 points and two steals.
• For Ohio State, Kyle Young scored 18 points off the bench, going 6-for-7 from the field.  E.J. Liddell tallied up 15 points and seven rebounds despite seven turnovers.

Postgame Quote:

• Head coach Pat Skerry: "The guys played hard and we did some good things offensively, we just had a hard time stopping them.  We did a good job sticking around against a very good, complete Ohio State team."

How It Happened:

• Early on, Towson looked for points from the perimeter while Ohio State focused primarily on play in the paint.  Antonio Rizzuto knocked down a three on Towson's second possession to give the Tigers an early lead.  Ohio State scored in its first five possessions to lead 12-3 at the first media break.
• Out of the media, Towson scored in transition on a Jason Gibson three from Terry Nolan Jr., adding another long two to cut the deficit to four.  After an OSU three, a long two by Juwan Gray followed by a steal and score dunk by Nolan got Towson to within three.
• At 17-12 OSU, Towson went on a 11-0 run with a trio of three-point plays, three free throws from Nolan, another Rizzuto three, a deep three from Cam Holden then a hook shot from Charles Thompson pushed Towson ahead 23-17 with 9:24 left in the 1^st.
• The home team went back to trying to find room in the paint with Towson guarding well at the perimeter.  Baskets by Kyle Young and Zed Key pulled OSU within a possession, then Towson held the Buckeyes without points for the following 4:22.  Chase Paar hit a close jumper, then Juwan Gray buried the kick-out three to build Towson's lead back to eight at 28-21 with 5:31 remaining in the opening half.
• OSU got points off the transition play to pull back within two points.  Gibson got through the lane and scored a layup to push Towson back up four at 30-26, 2:19 to go until half.
• Towson kept close the rest of the half, with Key leading the Buckeyes to a half-ending 7-2 push to give the home team a 33-32 lead at the break.
• Action was fast paced in the early going of the second half as both teams played aggressively towards the paint.  Ohio State got its lead to three, then Holden buried the top-up-the-arc three to tie it up.  Holden kept making shots to counter OSU possessions, tying the game up at 43-43 minutes into the 2^nd.
• The Buckeyes got the next three baskets, capped by five points from Young, to get its biggest lead at eight.  Again Towson went to Holden, who stopped the run with a tough layup underneath.  Jamari Wheeler scored two field goals in a row close range to make Ohio State's lead at 55-45 at the under-12 media timeout.
• Nolan stole the ball and get fouled on a one-on-one to the basket, hitting two free throws to stop the OSU run.  Fouls picked up on both sides as the teams got several free throw attempts.  With Towson down 13, Rizzuto hit a free throw, then a kick-out three from the wing to get Towson back within single digits at 62-53 with just over eight minutes remaining.
• Ohio State got its lead up to 16, with Justin Ahrens making a pair of threes in the run.  Gibson entered and hit his mark with a long three, then was fouled on a floater and one to get Towson back to a 10-point game at 73-63 with 5:38 left.
• After a couple of made OSU baskets, Gibson continued his hot streak and knocked down a pair of threes to pull Towson back to single digits at 78-69 by the final media timeout.
• Towson kept going back and forth with Ohio State trying to chip away, with Nicolas Timberlake getting late points to return the game to single digits twice.  But Towson could not get closer and fell 85-74.

Inside the Numbers

• Towson has a player earn 10 assists for the second game in a row.  Cam Holden notched 10 assists in Monday's victory at Kent State.
• Towson has netted 12 three-point field goals in each of the last two games.

Next Game:

• Towson returns to Baltimore for a game at Coppin State on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m.

- TowsonTigers.com –