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MBB v. Towson
John Crouch
79
Winner Towson Towson 20-7,11-3 CAA
55
UNCW UNCW 18-8,12-3 CAA
Winner
Towson Towson
20-7,11-3 CAA
79
Final
55
UNCW UNCW
18-8,12-3 CAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Towson Towson 35 44 79
UNCW UNCW 27 28 55

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Joe Browning

Tigers Control Seahawks In Pivotal CAA Tilt

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – Redshirt sophomore Nicolas Timberlake anchored five starters in double figures with 18 points to power Towson past UNCW, 79-55, in a battle of the Colonial Athletic Association's top two men's basketball teams on Thursday night at Trask Coliseum.
 
The Tigers, 20-7 overall and 11-3 in the CAA, cut into UNCW's lead atop the league standings with four games remaining on their schedule. The Seahawks remain in first place by a half game with an 18-8 and 12-3 conference record and three games left to play.
 
The Seahawks wrap up the home schedule on Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest against James Madison. UNCW's four seniors and a senior manager will be recognized before the tip-off and all-time great Devontae Cacok, now with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs, will have his jersey retired in a special halftime ceremony.
 
Timberlake made 6-of-9 field goals and added 4-of-5 at the free throw line for his team-high total. Junior forward Charles Thompson added his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds, junior guard Jason Gibson had 14 points, senior guard Cam Holden contributed 13 points and senior guard Antonio Rizzuto finished with 10.
 
Senior guard Jaylen Sims scored a game-high 22 points for the Seahawks, who shot 31.4 percent, their second worst shooting night of the season. Graduate guard Mike Okauru was the only other Seahawk in double digits with 13 points.
 
"Give Towson a lot of credit, they were the better team tonight," said Takayo Siddle, UNCW's second-year head coach. "They came in, executed their game plan and imposed their will on us perfectly. We were a little out of character. The moment got us out of character and we didn't execute our game play. Pat (Skerry) had his team ready to play and they did a very good job."
 
Towson outscored the Seahawks, 44-28, in the final period and held the hosts to 25.9 percent shooting, including 0-for-10 beyond the arc, in the final 20 minutes. The Tigers shot 63.6 percent in the second half and finished at 52.8 percent for the night.
 
Playing in front of a boisterous crowd, the Tigers, who owned a dominant 42-24 rebounding advantage, took control early in the contest and used a 15-3 spurt midway through the second period to break away for good.
 
After taking a 35-27 lead at halftime on a Timberlake bucket at the buzzer, the Tigers led by eight points with 10 minutes remaining when Skerry's club, behind Gibson, exploded.
 
Gibson was the catalyst in the rally, draining three trifectas, including one from the left corner at the 6:33 mark that gave the Tigers a comfortable lead, 62-42, with 6:33 on the clock. Towson's largest lead came with one minute left on a Chase Paar layup extended the margin to 77-53.
 
The Tigers carried a 35-27 lead into the break after limiting the Seahawks to 37.5 percent shooting in the first half and dominating the glass.
 
The Seahawks led early, 11-9, following a nifty reverse layup by Okauru with 12:37 left in the first half before the Tigers came alive to create some separation.
 
Towson, behind Timberlake, used a 10-3 spurt to build a 21-14 advantage and the margin swelled to 10 points, 26-16, when reserve guard Juwan Gray sank a three-pointer in the left corner for a 26-16 lead at 5:50. UNCW went 6:07 without a field goal in the stretch.
 
UNCW dialed long distance to whittle the deficit down to four points, 26-22, after back-to-back three pointers by Sims and Okauru at the four-minute mark of the opening period.
 
The Tigers then closed out the half on Timberlake's floater in the lane as time expired for a 35-27 edge at intermission. The junior guard finished the first half with 12 points to lead all scorers.
 
GAME NOTES: Towson has won six of its last seven outings…The Seahawks had their nine-game home winning streak snapped…UNCW won the initial meeting between the two teams, 81-77, on Jan. 22 in overtime at SECU Arena.…The Seahawks own a 25-21 advantage in the series…UNCW stands 14-5 against Towson at Trask Coliseum…Towson led for 34:27 of the contest…The Tigers shot 50 percent (9-of-18) from long distance…UNCW's four assists tied the season low for the Seahawks...Jaylen Sims registered his third straight game over 20 points and seventh of the season….Towson had 17 assists on 28 baskets...It was Towson's third straight win over UNCW at Trask Coliseum…Attendance was 4,411.


 
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