Second-Half Shut Down Defense gives Towson the win over Campbell

By:D’Mari Dreher-Smith, Sports Editor and Symone Hargrove, Contributing Writer

The Towson Tigers take on the Campbell Fighting Camels in a senior night thriller – honoring seven seniors. With the teams tied for #8 in the conference, the Tigers needed a dynamic win to give themselves a better chance going into the post-season. The Tigers late shut-down defense would hand them the win, 71-67.

The game started in Campbell’s favor. Able to immediately draw fouls from the Tigers early, the Fighting Camels would take the lead, 4-0. Towson’s Tyler Tejada would respond to the early lead with a jumper, before being shut down by Campbell’s quick offense, 4-2.

Despite the Fighting Camels 8-2 run, senior Jack Doumbia Jr. would create space for the Tigers to get their offense going. A solo 5-2 run from Doumbia would put the Tigers back on the board, 10-9.

“For me, you just want to win,” said Doumbia. “Even down, I saw an opportunity. I saw an opening. I just went for it.”

This quick back and forth game and a slow offense from the Camels, would briefly benefit the Tigers, giving them a 14-2 run for a lead halfway through the first half, 16-10.

Both teams would continue to trade points, Campbell still maintaining an offensive edge over the Tigers despite a tied score, 21-21. 

The Tigers would continue to struggle in the first half. Unable to grab key rebounds, the Tigers would force the Camels to speed up their play. Taking advantage of the fast game, a Doumbia steal and Tejada three-pointer would give the Tigers an edge, 24-21. 

Offensive and defensive mistakes from the Tigers would ultimately give the Camels a chance to fight though and end the half with a six-point lead, 36-30.

The Tigers would open the second half first with Doumbia’s two pointer, a no-look pass assisted by Dylan Williamson. Campbell would get on the board with two three pointers stretching them to a 10-point lead, 42-32.  

As the half continued the Tigers would constantly make small mistakes to turn the ball over, causing all the momentum to shift toward the Fighting Camels. Towson looked defeated, but there was still a lot of game to be played. 

An electric block by Chike Ndefo and two-pointer by Dylan Williamson would give Towson hope, coming off multiple bad possessions.  

As Towson continued to struggle with their rebounds, Dylan Williamson would step up when they needed him the most.  After a quiet game, Williamson made two three-pointers back-to-back to inch into Campbell’s lead, bringing the score to 61-54 with 6:42 left in the half.

“To those guys’ credit, they’re fighting through kind of being banged up a little bit this time of year,” said head coach Pat Skerry. 

Towson began to gain all the momentum back as Campbell faced a three minute scoring drought.  

A steal and finish by Jaquon Womack would change the trajectory of the game. Womack would go to the free throw line and successfully make his shot closing in on the Fighting Camels, 63-62.  

A block by Dylan Williamson and a jumper by Doumbia would tie the game at 65-65 with only three minutes on the clock. While the game was still not over, the Tigers would make sure to not let their opponent in front again.  

Doumbia would continue to show out, obtaining a rebound and taking it all the way down court to secure a lay up.  The Tigers would take the lead by two points with only 59 seconds left to go.  

Campbell, still unable to make anything happen on their side of the court, would face missing multiple shots and an unproductive defense. Eventually a block by Caleb Embeya and rebound by Tejada would seal the deal for the Towson Tigers in this thriller of a game.  

The Tigers will finish the regular season against the Stony Brook Seawolves, March. 3 at 6:30 p.m.