Sports | 11/14/08

Media Credit: Kristofer Marsh [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Kristofer Marsh [Click to enlarge]

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Coming into the season opener the Tigers were missing two returning senior forwards to suspension, both of which started a year ago so there were question marks about who would step in and fill the scoring void for Towson.

But the Tigers hopped on the back of five newcomers to come away with an 86-68 win in front of 2,789 fans at the Towson Center Friday night.

Playing in their first game in a Towson uniform Richmond-transfers Brian Morris and David Brewster, along with Colorado State-transfer Jarrel Smith, junior college-transfer Calvin Lee and freshman Troy Franklin combined for 55 of the Tigers 86 points.

"To watch your guys play like that it was a warm feeling," Towson head coach Pat Kennedy said. "We knew we needed transfers to help jump start the program. Chemistry is our key word this year and the kids really showed chemistry tonight."

Smith led the group scoring 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting.

"I was looking at the media stuff early in the preseason and I saw I wasn't projected to score a lot so I got mad," Smith said. "I just stopped reading it and decided to let my game do the talking. I had so much fun tonight. This game was the most fun I've had."

Morris added 10 points but also dished out a game-high 8 assists with just one turnover despite having the ball in his hands the majority of the game.

"I have a quarterback now," Kennedy said. "I have a true lead guard who can control the offense."

But what really helped the Tigers pull-away was junior Josh Thornton who scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the first five minutes of the second half.

"That's a good feeling when you're in a zone and the basket just feels like an ocean," Thornton said. "It felt good to see everyone get excited and pumped up like that."

Defensively the Tigers put on a clinic forcing 18 turnovers and blocking several shots with the length and athleticism of sophomore Robert Nwankwo and Lee in the paint. The shot-blocking threats helped hold the Mids to just 37 percent from the floor in the contest.

"They have big players, they're athletic, and they have great timing," Navy head coach Billy Lange said. "Lee takes up a ton of room and Nwankwo takes up a ton of room so if you give them that extra second they can get there and make a play."

Both teams started the game slow as each took turns missing shots and turning the ball over, but with the score tied at 9, still early in the first half, newcomers to the Towson team made their presence known.

Lee sank a pair of free throws, which was followed by a jumper from Brewster. Then Morris drove the lane and passed to Lee for an open lay-up. On the next possession Morris sank an open 3-pointer at the top of the key to cap off the 9-0 Towson run with 10 minutes remaining in the half.

The Tigers then extended that advantage to 27-13 by forcing several turnovers in their 1-3-1 defense and converting on the other end.

But the Midshipmen battled back, nearly cutting the Tigers halftime lead to seven when Smith sank a deep 3-pointer within the closing moments to move the lead back to 37-27 at the half.

On the 3-point shooting touch of Thornton the Tigers pushed the second half lead up to 56-32. The former Georgetown-transfer forced Coach Lange to burn two timeouts to try and cool off the hot shooter who sank five straight shots.

"I just started hitting shots," Thornton said. "I'm just trying to do more because that's the only way we're going to win more games."

When Thornton cooled down the Tiger-defense continued to heat-up as the Midshipmen could not get an open look.
Franklin, a 5-foot-11-inch point guard, razzled the crowd with some flashy passing and ballhandling as the Tigers closed out the game.

"You've got to protect your home turf," Kennedy said. "Whenever I've had 20-win teams we've always been good at home. Now we've just got to learn to win on the road and I think this team can do that."

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