The Towson University Tigers men's basketball team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end this past Saturday when it lost to Northeastern, 70-59, at the Towson Center. The Tigers saw the Huskies shoot lights out over the final 30 minutes of the game.  Northeastern shot 46 percent from the field - eight percent higher than the Tigers had  been giving up.

But this team continues to surprise the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Towson finds itself in second place in conference play with a record of 3-1. This week will be a tough one, but with a couple of wins, the Tigers can find themselves back on top of the conference.

This Week's Preview

Towson will take on the Blue Hens of Delaware this Wednesday up in Newark. Vince Angotti and I will have the call on the Towson Sports Network  at 6:30 p.m.  Much like Northeastern, the Blue Hens have a very talented veteran backcourt. Devon Sadler may be playing better than anyone in the conference not named Jerelle Benimon, and Jarvis Threatt is the Hens' second leading scorer. The Tigers will have to bring their best on Wednesday to handle the Blue Hens.

On Saturday, Jan. 19, the Tigers return to the Towson Center for a noon matchup with the Dukes of James Madison. The Dukes are having their best season under head coach Matt Brady. Coach  Angotti and I will have the call starting at 11:30 a.m. on the Towson Sports Network.

So, a couple of wins this week, and the Tigers can get  to 5-1 in the conference and move over .500 for the season. A crowd of 1,814 came out to watch the Tigers take on Northeastern this past Saturday, and it would be great to see all those folks plus more. These young men are doing our university proud on and off the court. They deserve our support.

Towson Center Moment #9

With the Towson Center era coming to a close at the end of this athletic year, I am running down my top 10 moments. 

This week, its another non-Towson athletic event, or in this case events. Many may not remember, but at one time the Towson Center was used frequently for concerts. Some of the big names that have taken the stage in the Towson Center include: Robin Trower, Roxy Music; Bonnie Raitt; Loretta Lynn; Frank Zappa; Hank Williams, Jr. and Little Feat. As a matter of fact, when Little Feat played at the Towson Center, it was the next-to- last concert ever played by their leader Lowell George. He passed away just days after his performance at Towson. Now, the Tigers' Director of New Media Damon Lewis is getting old, but he is still young enough to be rushing to Wikipedia to see if these are real people  or if I made them up.

Oh, by the way, there were a  couple of other acts that played at the Towson Center.  Stevie Ray Vaughn and some guy named Springsteen.  I think his first name  was Bruce.

I have seen two concerts at the Towson Center. In the summer of 1977, a high school buddy of mine took me to see a guy I had heard little about. He had had a Top 40 hit with kind of a novelty song called "Cheeseburger in Paradise". When I saw Jimmy Buffett at the Towson Center, I am sure that Director of Athletics Mike Waddell will be shocked to know that there was no such thing as Parrot Heads. Just your normal concert-going drinkers. Buffett was great, telling stories between songs, some of which were extremely funny to a high school junior. The place was  packed and rocking the whole night.

The other concert I saw at the Towson Center was in the spring of 2003. Many say he has one of  the greatest voices of all time. Smokey Robinson played at Towson in front of a half-full arena. He was and still is a great entertainer, and it was a phenomenal performance. 

So, when I think of the Towson Center as it comes to a close, I remember many great athletic events, but the ghosts of many musical performers also fill the building.