Towson University Athletics

The Tigers' 1989-90 and 1990-91 men's basketball teams, which went to the NCAA Tournament after winning East Coast Conference (ECC) titles in back-to-back seasons, were inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
 

The 1989-90 Tigers
In 1989-90, the Tigers were celebrating their 10th anniversary as an NCAA Division I program and coming off their first winning season since joining the top division. Despite struggling early, Towson regrouped and won five of its last seven ECC games to move into first place in the ECC standings. A 92-82 win over Lehigh in the regular season finale earned the Tigers the top seed for the ECC Tournament in the Towson Center.

In the ECC Tournament, the Tigers played their best basketball of the season as they won all three tournament games (Rider, 74-63; Delaware ,85-71 and Lehigh, 73-60) by double-figure margins. The win over Lehigh in the tournament finals - Towson's first ECC title - was played before a national audience on ESPN and a capacity crowd at the Towson Center.

Kurk Lee, who had been named as the ECC Player of the Year for the second time, was a unanimous selection as the ECC Tournament MVP while Devin Boyd earned ECC All-Tournament honors. Lee averaged 27.7 points per game with an impressive .633 field goal percentage in the tournament. Senior center Mike Morin was an unsung hero in the championship game as he scored 10 points with five rebounds.

Making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers earned the number 16 seed in the Midwest Region and faced overall number one-ranked Oklahoma in a first round game in Austin, Texas. The Sooners came into the game with a 27-4 record, averaging more an NCAA-leading 101.3 points per game. The Tigers put up a fight, whittling a 45-33 OSU halftime lead to 60-58 with 6:45 remaining. The Sooners needed a pair of Terry Evans three-pointers in the final minutes to escape with a 77-68 victory. The 1989-90 Tigers finished the season with an 18-13 record.

In his final game, Lee scored 30 points. He ended the year as the 13th-leading scorer in the nation with a 26.0 average. Kennell Jones also had an impressive performance against Oklahoma as he scored 11 points with 10 rebounds. While Lee led the Tigers in scoring, Jones averaged 8.7 points and a team high 6.8 rebounds. He was named as the ECC Scholar-Athlete for men's basketball. Williamson, the third member of the "Special K's," averaged 10.9 points while Morin had a 4.0 scoring average. Boyd was the Tigers' second-leading scorer with an 11.7 average and led the team with 2.9 assists per game. Chuck Lightening and Lewis Waller provided solid contributions off the bench. Lightening averaged 8.5 points per game with a .502 field goal percentage while Waller scored 7.1 points per contest.
 

The 1990-91 Tigers
Despite the loss of four seniors, the 1990-91 Tigers managed to duplicate the success they enjoyed the previous year. For the second year in a row, they won the ECC regular season title as well as the ECC Tournament championship. After another slow start, Towson eight consecutive games in January and opened the ECC schedule with a 9-0 record. The Tigers earned the ECC regular season title for the second year in a row and had a 10-2 conference record.

In the ECC semifinals, the Tigers avoided an upset bid by UMBC when Terrance Jacobs nailed a 16-foot jumper with 14 seconds remaining to provide the Tigers with a 78-76 victory. Before a national audience on ESPN, the Tigers were forced to come from behind to edge upset-minded Rider, 69-63, which had stunned Delaware in the ECC semifinals.

With 45 seconds remaining, Lightening made a play that will never be forgotten by anyone in the Towson Center. At the Rider end of the court, he interrupted a Bronc pass and send it toward midcourt. While running at full speed, he tried to control the basketball with two Broncs in pursuit. He finally gathered the ball near the Towson foul line and ascended to the basket for a powerful slam dunk that sent the Towson Center crowd into a frenzy and gave the Tigers a three-point lead.

Boyd, the only returning starter from the first NCAA Tournament team, led the ECC with a 20.7 scoring average. He was named as the ECC Player of the Year. Lightening also earned first team All-ECC honors while averaging 16.1 points and a team high 6.3 rebounds per game. A transfer from Allegany Junior College, Jacobs provided outstanding defense while averaging 15.9 points per contest.

The ECC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, Terry Truax led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament. They faced a Big Ten conference champion Ohio State team that was ranked second in the nation behind UNLV. Towson played Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio. Ohio State built a 45-37 halftime lead but the Buckeyes were hard-pressed to close out a 97-86 win over the Tigers. With 12:36 left in the game, Ohio State increased its lead to 64-46. But, Lightening, who was the game's high scorer with 26 points, led a 24-11 run that trimmed the deficit to 75-70 with less than five minutes to play. However, the Tiger comeback fell short when Boyd fouled out. He played only 21 minutes and scored just 17 points due to foul trouble.

Lightening was named as the CBS-TV Player of the Game while Jacobs chipped in with 22 points.

The head coach for both of the Tigers' NCAA Tournament teams, Truax was inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2004. His assistant coaches were Jim Meil, Michael Hunt, Darryl Bruce and Steve Baker.

Seven players, including Larry Brown, William Griffin, Craig Valentine, Scott Heidler, Boyd, Lightening and Waller, played for both NCAA Tournament teams.