Towson Men’s Basketball moves to 0-1 in conference play after OT loss to Charleston
By: Jake Shindel, Sports Editor
Towson Men’s Basketball lost to the College of Charleston 76-74 in overtime behind 22 points from Charleston Forward Ante Brzovic.
“I thought we played really hard,” said Head Coach Pat Skerry. “We still have room to grow. We had a lot of turnovers, that we just haven’t been able to get under control yet, and we gotta finish better around the rim.”
The Tigers erased a ten point deficit over the final nine minutes behind Guard Nicolas Timberlake’s nine second-half points, but Charleston fended off Towson in overtime. Timberlake led Towson in scoring with 14 points, while Guard Cam Holden led the defensive effort with five steals.
Charleston started the game on an 11-0 run before a putback layup by Holden ended the scoring drought. A floater by Guard Rahdir Hicks and then subsequent Charleston turnover led to the under-16 timeout.
Towson’s 7-0 run ended after a layup by Charleston. Going into the under-12 timeout, Charleston held a 16-9 lead. Down 23-13, Skerry called a timeout. Brzovic led all scorers with ten points through the first ten minutes of the game.
Charleston shot 6-9 from three-point range at the under-8 timeout, leading 26-13. A three out of the break raised Charleston to 70% shooting from three. Two free throws from Forward Sekou Sylla with five minutes to go in the first half ended an almost six minute scoring drought for the Tigers.
Charleston held a commanding 31-17 lead at the under-4 timeout, with the team having nine assists off 11 made baskets. A three-pointer from Timberlake gave him his first points of the game and cut Towson’s deficit to ten. Charleston rode the ten-point lead into the break, 35-25.
Brzovic ended the half with 12 points for Charleston, while Guard Nygal Russell had six points to lead Towson. Charleston’s three-point shooting cooled off towards the end of the half, with the team missing its last six attempts. Towson finished the first half shooting 8-27. Timberlake, the team’s leading scorer with over 15 points per game, finished the first half with three points.
Towson cut Charleston’s lead to four before a Charleston three pushed the lead back to seven. Skerry took a timeout as Charleston pushed the lead back to double digits, leading 56-46 with just over nine minutes remaining.
Five quick points, a three-pointer by Guard Christian May and a driving layup by Timberlake, cut Towson’s deficit to five points with eight minutes remaining. A foul by May led to the under-8 timeout, but not before Charleston’s lead was cut to three.
May, averaging 1.9 points per game, put up 10 points for Towson, all in the second half.
“He’s physically strong enough and talented enough and he can shoot,” Skerry said. “I think he came out of his shell today.”
A three from Russell led to the under-4 timeout with the Tigers clawing their way back to a four-point deficit. With one minute remaining in a tied game, Charleston got called for a traveling violation and gave the ball back to Towson.
Holden missed a hook shot, but a tip-in by Forward Charles Thompson gave Towson a two-point lead with 28 seconds left in the game. A Charleston three-pointer with 16 seconds left gave them a one-point lead, and Towson called a timeout.
Thompson got fouled with 2.5 seconds remaining. He missed the first shot but sunk the second one to tie the game. Charleston’s buzzer beater attempt was no good, leading to overtime tied at 69.
Towson called a timeout after a Timberlake jumper, which tied the game at 74 with under two minutes remaining. Two free throws with 13 seconds left gave Charleston a two-point lead and Towson took a timeout. The Tigers were unable to make the final shot, and Charleston won the game 76-74.
Towson’s next game is Thursday, Jan. 5 at home against Drexel at 7 p.m.
