TOWSON, Md. - Saturday's men's basketball win over UNC Wilmington did wonders for senior Robert Nwankwo to be sure. Getting the stink of a 41-game losing streak off your jersey is a great thing for a guy.

More importantly for Nwankwo was what the 66-61 victory did for the mental state of his young teammates, nine of whom are underclassmen. Those are the players who needed to know that ESPN could mention Towson men's basketball as something other than a punch line.

For them, Nwankwo said, Saturday was huge.

“For these young guys, it was very important for them to see that they can get this win,” said Nwankwo. “It felt good seeing those guys knowing what it feels like to win. Hopefully, we can keep this going. That's the itch that I have right now.”

As a senior, Nwankwo already knew the sensation of winning and he knew the feeling would come soon enough. His young teammates needed more than a feeling, however. They needed something tangible.

“At times, I could see Coach (Pat Skerry) having to remind them that it's not over at this level,” said Nwankwo. “I could actually see that they couldn't see how to bounce back from it. He stressed to them at every practice and every pre-game that we can win this, that they shouldn't let this get to them.”

Of course, Nwankwo had a personal role in bringing down the streak. The 6-foot-8 forward not only posted a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), but Nwankwo blocked a three-point try from UNCW guard Adam Smith with three seconds left to preserve the win.
Nwankwo's performance marked his second straight double-double, his fifth in the last sixth games and his ninth of the season.

“I feel like I've actually gotten into that zone,” Nwankwo said. “I actually feel like I've got this state of mind where I just feel I'm going out there, wins and losses, all out. I'm going out there and give it my all, especially with the time going by.”

It's during trying seasons like the Tigers have experienced when the true nature of a competitor is revealed. It would have been easy for Nwankwo to chuck the team concept and set out about padding his stats to make his career charts appear more appealing to professional scouts.

And Nwankwo admits that times have been occasionally personally “frustrating.” But, with all those underclassmen casting nervous eyes all about, in what was easily the worst time of their athletic careers, they needed to see a calming influence among them.

“At times, I could just see myself just breaking down in practice, like 'What's going on, what's happening,'” said Nwankwo. "They're young guys and they let me know, 'Hey, we're watching you.' Mental breakdowns are not something that I can get used to or be doing.”

Now that the unyielding talk about the streak has ended, Nwankwo and his teammates can set out about reshaping this season into something that they can be proud of, as early as tomorrow night's game at Hofstra.

Nwankwo can also lead his teammates in setting the stage for big progress in the future behind Coach Skerry.

“He (Skerry) is getting the most out of us, but these guys are young,” said Nwankwo. “Once they fully understand the concept that Coach Skerry has, then I don't see them losing that many games, especially next year.”

And wouldn't that smell sweet?