TOWSON, Md. - Baby steps. After a 100-54 loss to No. 13 Kansas on Friday to open the season, the young Tigers had only two days to rest, travel and practice before facing No. 17 Michigan on Monday night.
Michigan posed different problems than Kansas. The Wolverines returned four starters and while they were less athletic and not as big as the Jayhawks, they were very disciplined and opportunistic. Towson shot 52.4% (11-for-21) in the second half and overcame a horrible start before falling to Michigan, 64-47.
Senior forward Robert Nwankwo has taken it upon himself to be the leader of this team on the floor. The former walk-on registered his second straight double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds while freshman guard Deon Jones netted 12 points and sophomore forward Marcus Damas added 11 points with six rebounds.
The Wolverines, who shot 46% from the field, were led by Tim Hardaway, Jr. with 15 points.
Now let's take a look at the positives and negatives from this game.
The positives? Towson overcame a 21-0 deficit and while the Tigers could have folded the tent early in the game, they kept fighting. Damas and Jones appeared to get more confidence as the game went on and Nwankwo was very effective at getting position inside against a pretty big frontcourt.
Towson shot just 35.3% from the field in its first game against Kansas. The Tigers shot 43% from the field on Monday night, which is an accomplishment considering their poor start. Towson also hung with the Wolverines on the boards before losing the battle, 32-30, after beating Kansas on the boards on Saturday.
The negatives? The Tigers dug themselves into a 21-0 hole and didn't score their first basket until sophomore Erique Gumbs hit a jumper with 10:34 left in the first half. They also missed their first 10 shots. An old nemesis came back tonight in the form of free throw shooting. Nwankwo, after converting six of eight attempts the other night against Kansas, shot just two-for-six against Michigan. Gumbs was one of four at the line and Damas was four-for-seven. The entire starting frontcourt shot 7-of-17 (41.2%) from the line and nobody else got to the line.
The bench is very thin and that's an issue right now. Freshman Jervon Pressley is the first player off the bench and he's been in serious foul trouble during the first two games. He fouled out in 16 minutes against Kansas scoring two points and was disqualified on Monday after scoring two points in 15 minutes.
The turnovers also continues to haunt the young team, which turned it over 21 times on Tuesday night after committing 23 turnovers against Kansas. The freshman backcourt of Jones and Kris Walden combined for 12 turnovers (Jones had eight of those turnovers) while Gumbs added five turnovers.
Around the CAA
It was a rough night for the CAA as teams went a combined 1-5. Old Dominion (1-1) was the only winner as the Monarchs defeated Long Island, 77-69, at the Constant Convocation Center.
Northeastern (1-1) fell at UMass, 83-67, while William & Mary (0-3) lost at home to Liberty, 75-72. Georgia State (0-3) dropped an 84-77 decision to Florida Atlantic at home and George Mason (1-1) lost an overtime game against Florida International, 79-76.
