Posts Tagged ‘Towson’

What happened?

Northeastern traveled down to Towson, Md. hoping to open the 2012 calendar year with a victory against a team that didn’t win a game in 2011, and that is what they got. But it wasn’t as easy as it might sound.

Alex Bates earned his first career start, and sunk the first point of the game on a free throw after drawing a foul against the Tigers’ rebound specialist Robert Nwankwo. With the big man leaving the game immediately after the foul, Northeastern was able to score the first six points of the contest and it looked like the Huskies would be able to cruise their way to a win. However, a quick 8-0 run from Towson gave them a lead before NU took it right back with the next seven points. The resulting five-point advantage would be the largest for either team through the rest of the half with Towson pushing themselves to a two-basket lead at the 7:26 mark after their 9-0 push.

A Jervon Pressley layup with just under a minute and a half remaining in the opening frame would cut the Northeastern lead to two, and the teams headed into the locker rooms with the Huskies leading by a slim 25-23 margin. Despite Nwankwo playing a total of two minutes in the first half, Towson held a 21-10 advantage on the boards at the break, and had scored ten second-chance points, but their undoing was seven turnovers that NU had converted into nine points. In comparison, Northeastern had turned the ball over just three times for two Towson points.

In the second half, the Huskies would slowly build their lead against a Towson team that refused to give in. Eventually, Northeastern would take a ten-point lead with 12:07 to go but the Tigers cut that back to two less than four minutes later. A 13-4 rush would give the Huskies their largest lead at any point in the game, an 11-point advantage capped off by a Quincy Ford free throw with a minute to go. Despite a host of substitutions and fouls by Towson down the stretch, a lack of shots and turnovers would run out the clock and send the Tigers to their 33rd consecutive defeat since January 3, 2011. Read more…

Andy Towne Basketball CAA, Holiday Road Trip, Towson

The Huskies opened up 2012 with a victory, taking down the still-winless Towson Tigers on the road.

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WRBB Sports Basketball, QuickCast CAA, Towson

Monday, January 2

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Basketball Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at Towson Tigers
from Towson Center Arena in Towson, Md.
with Patrick McHugh and Andy Towne

Wednesday, January 4

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Basketball Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
from Matthews Arena
with Andy Towne and Alex Faust

Saturday, January 7

1:45 p.m. – Huskies Basketball Pre-Game
2:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at James Madison Dukes
from the JMU Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va.
with Patrick McHugh and Andy Towne

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Hockey Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey vs. US National Team Development Program
from Matthews Arena
with Ben Horner, Jack Thaler, and TBA

WRBB Sports Basketball, Hockey James Madison, Towson, UNC-Wilmington, USNTDP

College basketball practices still won’t get under way for another month, but it’s never too early to start talking some hoop. Today, we kick off our CAA team-by-team previews with the Towson Tigers.

2010-11 Recap: Last season was a complete and utter disaster for the Tigers, and that’s putting it kindly. With a roster that underwent constant turnover due to injuries and transfers, Towson was undermanned and finished with a 4-26 mark, including an 0-18 finish in the CAA. Surprisingly enough the Tigers got off to a respectable 4-7 start to the season, with wins over Coppin State, Western Michigan, UMBC, and La Salle. Once the calendar flipped to January, however, the Tigers were tamed and dropped their final 19 games, with seven losses by 10 points or more. Though the squad was stuck in the CAA basement all season, Towson did give the fifth-seeded Drexel Dragons a scare in the first round of the CAA Tournament, entering halftime tied 28-28 and trailing by only two points with 3:15 remaining. The close call was not enough though as Towson fell 75-69, bringing an end to an ignominious campaign.

Against Northeastern: The Tigers only met Northeastern once last season, a Feb. 9 showdown in Boston. The Huskies emerged with an 82-78 victory behind 21 points from senior captain Chaisson Allen, but head coach Bill Coen considered his team fortunate to escape. Towson had little trouble finding its shooting stroke inside Matthews Arena, shooting a hot 55.6-percent from three-point range in building a 40-34 lead at the break. Settling for jump shots in the first half, NU’s offense looked stagnant as the hosts went 2-for-11 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes. In the second half the Huskies regrouped and attacked the basket, with Allen leading the way. The aggressive approach paid off as teammates Ryan Pierson (17 points), Jon Lee (16 points) and Joel Smith (13 points) all reached double-figures in the win. Isaiah Philmore led all scorers with 25 points in a losing effort for the visitors.

Key Losses:

• Isaiah Philmore: Easily the team’s best player last season, the sophomore finished eighth in the conference in scoring at 15.3 points-per-game and was 10th in the league in rebounding with 7.0 boards-per-game. A difficult matchup for opposing teams, Philmore posed a nightmare for coaches who couldn’t figure out whether to put a big man on him due to his size (6-foot-7) or a smaller player due to his quickness and respectable outside shooting ability (35.3-percent from three-point distance). The CAA’s closest version of Blake Griffin, Philmore finished last season as one of the top players in the league, reaching double-figures in his final 10 games and averaging 22.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in his final six contests. Philmore transferred to Xavier during the offseason and will be eligible to play for the Muskateers during the 2012-13 season.
• Braxton Dupree: A transfer from the University of Maryland, Dupree put up solid numbers in his one season for the Tigers, averaging 12 points while playing in 29 of the team’s 30 games. His low post presence and physical style made him one of the CAA’s top rebounders, finishing fourth in the league with 7.9 rebounds-per-game. A late-season injury limited the big man’s efficiency as he failed to reach double digits in nine of his final 10 games.
• Josh Brown: The team’s senior point guard, Brown was one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the league last season, connecting on 42.7-percent of his long distance efforts, the fourth-highest average in the CAA. Brown averaged 10.6 points-per-game last season and saved his best for last in back-to-back contests against Drexel. In his home finale, Brown dropped 21 points on the Dragons, and followed that up with 18 against DU in the CAA Tournament.
• Pat Kennedy: The coach of Towson since 2004 handed in his resignation days after last season ended. Though his seven seasons as head man of the Tigers failed to produce a winning season, Kennedy exits with 472 career coaching wins.

Key Returns:

• RaShawn Polk: The 6-foot-2 Polk averaged 11.6 points-per-game during his junior campaign and will be expected to add more on offense during his senior season. A second-team All-CAA Academic selection, Polk battled through a preseason concussion and a midseason illness to produce solid numbers for his team. His best effort last season came in Towson’s 89-74 win over Coppin State in the second game of the season, in which the guard torched the Eagles for 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-5 from long distance.
• Erique Gumbs: A sizable player at 6-foot-9, Gumbs returned to action last season after a knee injury forced him to take a medical redshirt after his fifth game in 2009. Gumbs looked tentative and unsure of himself at times last season, contributing an average of 3.6 points-per-game last season and reaching double digits only twice. Though he is only a redshirt sophomore, Gumbs will be leaned on to contribute early and often this season considering how little experience there is on the Tigers’ roster.
• Robert Nwankwo: A complicated credits transfer issue (think of it as Towson’s version of the NU shuffle) meant Nwankwo was ineligible to play last season, so the big man took a redshirt. Back on the roster again this season, the 6-foot-8 senior forward is sorely needed by his team. The former walk-on earned a starting job in 2009-10 and posted solid averages of 9.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks-per-game. His effort on defense was huge as he led the CAA in blocked shots and finished 11th in the country in the category en route to an All-Defensive team nod. A major question mark will be how Nwankwo looks in his return to the court. By the time Towson’s season begins, Nwankwo won’t have appeared in an official game in 20 months.

What to Expect: New head coach Pat Skerry takes over for Kennedy and brings with him an entirely new coaching staff. In addition the school broke ground on a new facility — Tiger Arena — which will open in 2013, while also making improvements to the floor of the current arena. The makeover is a welcome sign at Towson, where last season’s debacle had players and fans alike wondering if the program could be repaired. Expect Skerry to make a positive impact on his team by injecting new hope and enthusiasm into the atmosphere surrounding his club. That being said, the Tigers still remain thin on experience, with only two seniors and six freshmen on the roster. Losing Philmore was a huge blow to the team as well, as his athleticism would have given Towson a starting point and something to build off. An 0-18 repeat isn’t going to happen, but don’t expect the win total to jump too far either. Expect the Tigers to be competitive all season but still finish in the bottom third as the rebuilding project take shape.

Patrick McHugh Basketball, The Dog Pound CAA, Fall Preview, Towson

Though his Huskies got the win, men’s basketball coach Bill Coen felt his team’s victory over Towson last night took a Houdini-like effort.

“I think probably the best way I can put it is we escaped tonight,” Coen said. “We certainly didn’t play our best basketball but we did enough good things down the stretch to give us the victory.”

Facing a Tigers squad that was 4-19 overall and 0-13 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Northeastern got all it could handle from the gritty Towson team. Despite trailing by six points at half time, the Huskies regrouped and squeaked by with an 82-78 decision in front of 1,201 fans at Matthews Arena.

The win pushes NU to 9-16 overall and 5-9 in league play. The squad has won five of its last six contests, all in conference games.

Struggling to contain the Tigers’ hot three-point shooting (55.6 percent in the first half), the stunned Huskies found themselves on the wrong end of a 40-34 score at the break. NU could not find its shooting stroke, going only 2-of-11 from long distance in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Regrouping at the intermission, the Huskies emerged from the locker room determined to attack more on offense. Led by senior captain and guard Chaisson Allen’s 21 points, Northeastern erased its six-point deficit and built an eight-point lead before hanging on down the stretch.

“I felt myself and my teammates settled for some jumpers in the first half,” Allen said. “We didn’t get to the rack or get to the foul line. I just wanted to come out more aggressive. I knew if I was able to be aggressive I could get my teammates more involved, and that’s what gave us the win.”

Allen joined freshman forward Ryan Pierson (17 points), and sophomore guards Jon Lee (16 points) and Joel Smith (13 points) in double-digits.

Tigers forward Isaiah Philmore led all scorers with 25 points, while teammates RaShawn Polk and Brian Morris scored 18 points and 15 points respectively.

Coen said the increased comfort level of his younger players has contributed to the team’s improved offensive play.

“A lot of the sophomores didn’t play all that much last year,” Coen said. “They’re now coming in with some experience, 20-plus games into the year playing 30-odd minutes. Now you’re getting out there and getting more comfortable. You know how you can score and how the offense is going to work for you.”

WRBB Sports Basketball Towson

Northeastern escapes a 1st-half deficit and holds on late for the win at home, 82-78.

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WRBB Sports Basketball, QuickCast Towson

Monday, February 7

59th Annual Beanpot Tournament – Semifinal #1
4:40 p.m. – Beanpot Pre-Game
5:05 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies vs. Harvard Crimson
from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
with Alex Faust, Jared Shafran, and Ben Horner
TV:

Wednesday, February 9

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. Towson Tigers
from Matthews Arena
with Patrick McHugh, Chris Tramontozzi, and Kainani Stevens

9:00 p.m. – Hockey East This Week

Friday, February 11

3:00 p.m. – Dog Pound Sports Sound

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies at UMass-Lowell Riverhawks
from the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Mass.
with Alex Faust, Ben Horner, and TBA

Saturday, February 12

11:45 a.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
12:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at Georgia State Panthers
from GSU Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
with Patrick McHugh and Jared Shafran
TV:

WRBB Sports Basketball, Hockey Beanpot, Georgia State, Harvard, Towson, UMass-Lowell

Monday, January 24

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. William & Mary Tribe
from Matthews Arena
with Patrick McHugh, Andy Towne, and Victoria Rossi

Wednesday, January 26

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies at UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
from Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, N.C.
with Andy Towne and Dan Groob

9:00 p.m. – Hockey East This Week

Thursday, January 27

Only available on WRBB Sports Extra
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Women’s Basketball: Huskies vs. Towson Tigers
from Solomon Court
with Chris Tramontozzi and Patrick McHugh

Friday, January 28

3:00 p.m. – Dog Pound Sports Sound

7:15 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:30 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies vs. UMass Minutemen
from Matthews Arena
with Alex Faust, Jared Shafran, and Ben Horner
TV:

Saturday, January 29

12:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
1:00 p.m. – Northeastern Basketball: Huskies vs. Georgia State Panthers
from Matthews Arena
with Patrick McHugh, Andy Towne, and Kainani Stevens

6:45 p.m. – Huskies Pre-Game
7:00 p.m. – Northeastern Hockey: Huskies at UMass Minutemen
from the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass.
with Alex Faust, Jared Shafran, and Ben Horner

Sunday, January 30

Only available on WRBB Sports Extra
2:00 p.m. – Northeastern Women’s Basketball: Huskies vs. George Mason Patriots
from Solomon Court
with Brandon Challener and TBA

WRBB Sports Basketball, Hockey, The Dog Pound George Mason, Towson, UMass, UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary, Women's Basketball

We inch closer to the season with Media Day tomorrow, and this week we’ll bring you twice the preview action. Today, we look at the Towson Tigers.

2009-10 Recap: A season that began inauspiciously with a 4-16 start eventually improved with a 6-5 finish to bring the Tigers to a final record of 10-21. In conference, the team went 6-12 and finished in 8th place, defeating 9th-seeded UNC-Wilmington in the first round of the CAA Tournament before falling to top-seeded Old Dominion the next day. While the November, December and January portion of the schedule was forgettable and included a seven game losing streak, Towson did play its best basketball down the stretch, at one point winning three consecutive games which included an 83-77 win at William & Mary, the CAA’s second-best team, on Feb. 24.

Key Losses:

• Josh Thornton: A transfer guard from Georgetown, Thornton averaged 11.7 points per game in three seasons at Towson. Offensive inconsistency plagued the senior last season as he had four games scoring over 20 points but also had eight games in which he scored 6 points or less. With an average of 11.4 points per game he was the team’s leading scorer a season ago.
• Calvin Lee: The team’s second-leading scorer at 10.6 points per game, Lee showed major improvement at the forward position in 2009-10. After not seeing action as a freshman or sophomore Lee came off the bench as a junior and cracked the starting lineup last year as a senior. He doubled his average in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks from his junior year and had three double-doubles on the year.
• Jarrel Smith: A transfer from Colorado State, the forward played two seasons for the Tigers as a starter, averaging 9.2 points per game last season. Injuries cut short his senior year as he did not play in five of the team’s final eight games and came off the bench in the other three. Injuries hurt his shooting percentage as his average fell from 44.6% as a junior to 39.8% last year.

Key Returns:

• Robert Nwankwo: One of four seniors on the team, Nwankwo is a physical presence in the paint for the Tigers. He averaged 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and had eight double-doubles on the year. The 6’8” big man made his biggest impact on defense, leading the conference with an average of 3.1 blocked shots per game, the 11th-highest total in the nation, en route to being named to the CAA All-Defensive team. Nwankwo could raise his average by three to four points per game if he improves his free throw shooting as he was a disappointing 43.7% from the charity stripe last season.
• RaShawn Polk: The player with perhaps the greatest upside, the junior guard led the team in scoring in the final seven games of the season by averaging 15.5 points per game, including 20 points in the first round win over UNCW in the CAA Tournament. Polk also averaged over 30 minutes per game at the end of the season. Polk will be looked to share the ball more this season as he averaged only one assist per game last year.
• Troy Franklin: The junior guard is the main assist man for the Tigers as he led the team with 3.7 helpers per game. Much like Polk he raised his level of play down the stretch, averaging 13.4 points per game in the season’s final eight games and shooting 50% from beyond the 3-point arc and shooting 90% from the free throw line. He saved his best performance for the team’s biggest win as he had 27 points, seven assists and only one turnover in an 83-77 win at William & Mary.

What to Expect: While Towson has seen its win total decline each of the last three seasons, the Tigers hope to finally crack the .500 mark this year. While three of the top four scorers depart, three players (Nwankwo, Polk, Franklin) with an average of at least 8.3 points per game return. With four of five starters returning and many players showing improvement towards the end of the season the Tigers could have their best season yet under Pat Kennedy. If these players continue to improve and the team can get something from its bench it could be the surprise team of the year in the CAA. One area of improvement will have to be on defense, where the Tigers allowed a league-high 76.2 points per game. Expect Towson to improve this season and finish in the middle of the pack, possibly in the top five if all goes well.

Patrick McHugh Basketball CAA, Towson