KENT, Ohio – With its opponent battling back to within three in the second half, the Towson University men's basketball team held Kent State without points in the final 5:50 of play to earn a 73-58 road victory on Monday night.
 
Towson (6-3) began the game on a 19-2 run and led by as many as 21 in the first half, holding off a comeback attempt by Kent State (4-3) with strong defense, a 41-27 rebounding edge and 12 three-point field goals.  Scoring the first basket 40 seconds in, Towson held the lead the remainder of the game.
 
With the victory, Towson has won three in a row, including a pair of wins away from SECU Arena.
 
Key Stats:

• The Towson defense held Kent State to 28.8% from the field.
• Cam Holden earned the first 10-assist game for Towson since Jerrelle Benimon had 10 assists vs. Central Penn on Dec. 10, 2013.  Holden nearly had a triple-double, adding 11 rebounds and seven points.  It is his fifth double-double in nine games this year.
• Nicolas Timberlake netted a team-best 22 points, three shy of his career-high, also coming up with a double-double on nine rebounds.  He hit his first four three-pointers in the game.
• Antonio Rizzuto earned a season-best 18 points off 7-for-13 shooting, including four three-point field goals, while Jason Gibson had 11 points and two assists.  Juwan Gray was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, finishing with nine points.
• For Kent State, Sincere Carry lead the team with 17 points and five assists while Giovanni Santiago scored 16, all in the first half, adding two steals.

Postgame Quote:

• Head coach Pat Skerry: Óur ball movement was very good and we made our shots today.  It was great getting Antonio, Jason and Juwan back, and I'm very proud that when a good team like Kent State made a run, our team responded and earned a great team win."

How It Happened:

• The Towson defense kept Kent State out of the paint early and off the scoreboard in the first 4:04.  Nicolas Timberlake hit the kick-out three in Towson's first offensive possession to put Towson up 3-0.
• After Kent State ended the run, Towson's defense kept forcing turnovers, leading to shots the other way in transition.  Towson started to get hot from beyond the perimeter, piecing together a 16-0 run in a span of five minutes, including three made three-pointers by Jason Gibson, to surge ahead 19-2 with less than 12 minutes left in the 1^st.
• Again Kent broke its scoreless streak, and again Towson responded with more buckets.  Rahdir Hicks knocked down a shot in traffic, followed by Juwan Gray hitting a hook shot close to give Towson a 23-5 advantage.
• The threes kept coming as Towson continued to stay strong from behind the arc, adding strong defense.  Briefly going back-and-forth with Kent State on baskets, another pair of threes, this time by Timberlake, gave Towson a 33-12 lead with under six to go in the opening period.
• Giovanni Santiago notched a trio of three-point plays to cut into Towson's lead.  Timberlake's fourth three-pointer ended that streak as Towson retook a 15-point advantage.
• Kent State continued to go to Santiago for points, clawing back to within 12 late in the first.  Gibson hit a runner off a blocked three at the buzzer to give Towson a 43-29 advantage at the break.
• Play started physical in the opening minutes of the second half.  Antonio Rizzuto hit a layup from under the basket to begin as Kent State continued to look for threes.
• At 46-34 Towson, Charles Thompson earned a thunderous dunk out of a timeout.  Kent State continued its fast play, leading to VanCameron Davis scoring a pair of baskets in a row to bring the home team within nine at 48-39 with 14:34 to play.
• Kent State got to within eight at 50-42 after a Sincere Carry layup and one.  Towson countered with a second-chance three from Rizzuto and a Gray layup with power to put Towson back up by double digits.  Cam Holden added a transition layup to complete the 7-0 run and make it 57-42 Towson with 11:12 left in the 2^nd.
• The home team slowly started to chip away, mainly with free throws.  Kent State got to within six with 8:30 left, then Timberlake hit a 15-foot jumper to stop the run and push Towson to lead 59-51 with eight minutes to play.
• D.J. Johnson hit a layup for Kent, then again Rizzuto earned a big score with a layup on a baseline drive.  The Golden Flashes continued to get closer on shots in the paint, getting to within three with 5:50 left. 
• The Towson defense held the rest of the way, keeping Kent State off the scoreboard for the final 5:50.  The Tigers began with Thompson getting a big block then Timberlake knocking down a jumper in transition.  After a Kent State miss, Rizzuto buried the corner three to send Towson back up 66-58 with 4:23 to go.
• Towson's defense continued to withstand Kent's blitzes in the paint, leading to the win.  Rizzuto added another three-pointer late as the Tigers took the 73-58 victory.

Inside the Numbers

• Cam Holden has 11 career double-doubles in DI play, including five this year with Towson.  He has also led the team in rebounding in eight of nine Towson contests.
• 12 three-point field goals tie the most for Towson in a game since Jan. 13, 2018 when the Tigers had 13 threes at William & Mary.  The Tigers also had 12 threes on Feb. 6, 2020 at Delaware.  The previous season-high was nine vs. New Mexico on Nov. 26.
• The Tigers notched 18 assists on 28 made field goals.  Towson last had 18 assists in a game on Feb. 27, 2020 at Hofstra.
• This is the second game this season where Towson has had at least two players score 18+ points.  On Nov. 23 vs. Penn, Terry Nolan Jr. scored 25 points while Cam Holden had 20.

Next Game:

• Towson heads southwest to Columbus to challenge Ohio State, ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 9 p.m.  The game will air nationally on ESPNU.

- TowsonTigers.com –