WASHINGTON – In a fight to the finish, the 1-seed Towson University men's basketball team kicked off the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) quarterfinal round with a 68-61 victory vs.9-seed Northeastern to advance to the semifinal round.
 
Down by as much as 10 in the first half, Towson (25-7) took the lead on a Nicolas Timberlake three on the first possession of the second period and held the lead the rest of the way vs. Northeastern (9-22).  Towson led by as much as 11 as Northeastern pulled to within one.  Chase Paar hit a layup with 1:30 left, then Towson iced the game with free throws en route to the victory.
 
With the win, Towson earns its 25^th victory of the season.  This ties the program record for most amount of wins in a season in the Division I era as Towson went 25-11 in the 2013-14 campaign.  It is the most wins since Division II Towson was 26-4 in the 1977-78 season.
 
Towson will play the winner of 4-seed Delaware and 5-seed Drexel tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
 
Key Stats:

• Towson's difference in the game came on the three-point line: Towson hit nine threes (9-for-23) while Northeastern hit two (2-for-14).
• Nicolas Timberlake finished with 25 points, including 23 in the second half, off 7-for-10 shooting, including 5-for-7 from three-point range, and 6-for-7 from the line.  Cam Holden tallied up 18 points, six assists and six rebounds.  Terry Nolan Jr. scored 11 points off the bench.
• For Northeastern, Chris Doherty led the team with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Shaquille Walters finished with 10 points, six boards and four assists.

How It Happened:

• The defenses ruled early on as Towson forced turnovers on passes while the other way, early threes did not fall.  Jason Gibson forced a steal up top the arc and sprinted down the court for a layup, giving Towson a 2-0 lead four minutes in.  The defense continued to force plays, with a Terry Nolan Jr. block on a layup leading to a fast break dunk by Nicolas Timberlake for Towson to lead 4-0.
• Northeastern scored its first basket with 14:20 left in the first half.  The Jahmyl Telfort jumper sparked a 12-0 run for the designated visitors as Northeastern led 12-4 through the second media timeout.
• Cam Holden ended the Northeastern run with a tough jumper from 10 feet out.  The Huskies continued to get space underneath and built the lead to 10 at 16-6 with nine minutes to play in the 1^st.
• Towson started to pick up its offense as the two sides started to trade scoring.  Northeastern had a 24-15 as Towson picked up the pressure.  A Nolan three in the corner sparked a 10-0 run as Nolan and Holden combined for all points in the charge, pushing Towson ahead 25-24 with 3:17 left in the period.
• Northeastern got back the lead with a Nikola Djogo three.  A couple of later Holden free throws made it 28-27 Huskies at the break.
• Towson came out of the timeout hitting on all cylinders as Timberlake knocked down a three from the corner then a dunk off a fast break.  Northeastern hit a layup, then the threes started falling, with Timberlake and Nolan hitting in succession to give Towson a 38-30 lead with 16:49 to play.
• The Huskies continued to try for points in the paint as they kept chipping Towson's lead down to single digits.  Towson went up by 10 off free throws from Juwan Gray with under 10 minutes to play.  Again Northeastern got closer with free throws, then on a strong sequence with 8:07 left to go, Timberlake buried a three while Holden was fouled underneath.  Holden got the in-bound and hit a layup to push the Tigers ahead 53-42 with eight minutes remaining.
• Towson had to hold off the Northeastern runs into the paint.  At 58-47 Towson, the Huskies scored the next 10 points, all off points in the paint or free throws.  With 2:02 left, Towson led 58-57.
• Chase Paar hit a big layup in traffic with 1:30 left to put Towson's lead to three.  Towson's defense held, then Holden hit a pair of free throws.  Northeastern fired off a trio of threes and missed all of them, leading to more Towson free throws.
• Northeastern did get to the line and get free throws to pull within three.  Timberlake knocked down late free throws as Towson secured the 68-61 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• All three Towson-Northeastern games this season were decided by seven points or fewer.
• Towson earns its first victory in the CAA Tournament since March 4, 2017, an 82-54 win vs. Northeastern.
• Terry Nolan Jr. earned his 300^th career assist today.
• Nicolas Timberlake came up one point shy of his career-high in points.  This is his sixth 20+ point game of the season.

Next Game:

• Towson now gets set for the CAA Tournament Semifinal Round tomorrow at 6 p.m. in D.C.  The game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.

- TowsonTigers.com –