Timberlake leads MBB to 69-52 win over Navy

[mat1992 2,231]

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=369977

Nicolas Timberlake scored 24 points in 37 minutes to lead Towson to a 69-52 win over Navy from Annapolis on Wednesday afternoon from Alumni Hall. This was an ugly, foul-prone affair and the TIgers wound up shooting just 31% (9-29) in the second half after shooting 15-of-27 in the first half. They also turned the ball over 14 times with four apiece from Jason Gibson and Cam Holden. Gibson, coming off a CAA Player of the Week, shot just 2-of-11 from the field and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Holden played 30 minutes due to foul trouble and scored eight points, while grabbing eight rebounds but was a +23 for the game to lead Towson.

Timberlake was an impressive 9-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from long range as the Tigers shot 50% (9-18) from beyond the arc. Charles Thompson was the only other Tigers in double figures with 10 and also had eight boards with five blocks. Terry Nolan scored just five points on 2-of-9 shooting, but dished out eight assists and had no zero turnovers. Towson did have 19 assists on the game, but they were outrebounded by 11. Towson is 9-4 going into their first CAA game on Dec. 31 at 2pmET at SECU.
 

Navy was also 62 in the Net Rankings and Towson was 80. 

Some comments from PS after the game on the broadcast:

"Proud of our guys. Sloppy with a lot of fouls. Very physical. The play on Cam Holden was bad. Good win against well-coached team. 17 point win on the road. Timberlake was sensational. Thompson was big in the second half.

"Nolan 8 assists and no turnovers. Rebounding wasn't good. Wild shots. Take the win. Hopefully, everyone stays healthy on break and gets ready for tough schedule in CAA. All going home and coming back on 26th."

 
"(Team is going home for Christmas) It's hard not being around families and friends. Proud of our group. People should get on board and support them."

"Juwan is playing smart and tough. Some inconsistencies with the whistles. Tony couldn't stay on the floor. Take the win."

 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone! Have a great Christmas Day and let's get ready for (hopefully with some good health) a strong 2022.
 

[TSU88 1,070]

Good way to wrap up the OOC portion of the schedule. Thank goodness today for Timberlake. Also didn’t hurt that Navy’s leading scorer went down with an injury very early in the game, along with Navy’s atrocious foul shooting. Nolan is not shooting well, but he’s dishing out assists better than anyone we’ve had for a long, long time. Gibson’s shooting was really off today, but he did hit a couple of big shots in the 2nd half. Gotta love Holden’s all around game. Didn’t score much, but he was a +23. 

Couple of other points-Navy killed us on the offensive boards and the foul on Holden by #31 on Navy was a total cheap shot. That’s how you potentially injure someone seriously. He should have been kicked out of the game.

Alright, on to JMU on NYE. Should be a good barometer in terms of how we stack up in the CAA. 
 

[tualum 108]

Wow. Must say impressed with the win streak. Despite the ugly play, pulled out the win. Skerry ball has retired maybe? Waiting to see how conference play goes..

[mat1992 2,231]

Very physical team. We got crushed on the boards by 11 and still won by 17. Yes, Navy's top scorer was injured and that helped in the spread. I do think the fact that we played some very physical teams in Pitt, Navy, New Mexico, San Francisco, Ohio State, Monmouth, even LIU with Kante and UNCG will allow us to get ready for the CAA. We're not the same team that had Tunstall and Sanders up front so we have a 6-5, 205-pound power forward in Holden, who is an incredible rebounder for his size, but was also pushed around today. Same with Gray at 6-8, 220, who is more finesse. 

We missed a ton of makeable shots and you could say Navy did as well. But Navy lives on defense and they are allowing around 39% shooting per game so they are no joke. They average 28.2% on 3-point defense and we shot 9 of 18. 

Again, different team. Not going to dominate everybody on the boards as in the past. We're going to trap and pressure the ball. When you break the press, there will be people open. Not a big team when you basically play four guards. 

[RundaPower 153]

No way Navy is going to be more physical than a Skerry coached team.  I thought they pushed off on the rebounds and went over the back numerous times(no calls). Terrible officiating led to a sloppy game and Navy hanging around.  

[mat1992 2,231]

11 minutes ago, RundaPower said:

No way Navy is going to be more physical than a Skerry coached team.  I thought they pushed off on the rebounds and went over the back numerous times(no calls). Terrible officiating led to a sloppy game and Navy hanging around.  

Navy is usually physical under Ed DeChellis. They did beat Virginia. They can't really outleap you so they have to play that way and yes, they got away with a ton of fouls. Especially No. 55 Njoku, who had two fouls. TWO! He's 6-7, 235 and literally just threw Holden out of bounds after a made FT and no call. Beat a bad W&M team by 19.

I also though because we had so many cheap fouls on the perimeter and was in foul trouble most of the game, we played a little softer in the paint off a miss.

[mat1992 2,231]

 

[tu_fan 110]

I'm so glad they were able to play this game, with COVID creating so much havoc.  This will be a nice Net ranking boost, beating a "quad 2" team at their place.  We are now shooting over 37% as a team (from 3), and that's remarkable given how bad we were the first few games of the year.   This team is special, I could see that when we played Albany.  The ball movement and unselfish play is something I've always admired with other teams, and it's a joy to watch.  

It's the best Towson team in 20 years and the numbers are bearing that out.  Navy is decent, and this was yet another win where we led wire to wire.  18 assists to 3.  To me, it's this type of passing that has been the missing link, and what has made this season so enjoyable so far.  

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

10 minutes ago, tu_fan said:

I'm so glad they were able to play this game, with COVID creating so much havoc.  This will be a nice Net ranking boost, beating a "quad 2" team at their place.  We are now shooting over 37% as a team (from 3), and that's remarkable given how bad we were the first few games of the year.   This team is special, I could see that when we played Albany.  The ball movement and unselfish play is something I've always admired with other teams, and it's a joy to watch.  

It's the best Towson team in 20 years and the numbers are bearing that out.  Navy is decent, and this was yet another win where we led wire to wire.  18 assists to 3.  To me, it's this type of passing that has been the missing link, and what has made this season so enjoyable so far.  

If my math is correct.   Non conference opponents combined for 80-77 record thus far and we played zero cupcakes!!!  No one thought Coppin would be 1-14 to start. 
 

If we continue to share the ball and knock down 3’s at this pace there is no doubt in my mind that is a 20+ win team.   11-7 in conference play is extremely attainable.  
 

Congrats to staff and players.  9-4!!!  
 

Spiro said it best today..  fast and furious pace of assists that truly hasn’t been seen the past decade during the Skerry era.  

Edited December 22, 2021 by Bay Area Tiger

[TuTigers2012 1,061]

33 minutes ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

If my math is correct.   Non conference opponents combined for 80-77 record thus far and we played zero cupcakes!!!  No one thought Coppin would be 1-14 to start. 
 

If we continue to share the ball and knock down 3’s at this pace there is no doubt in my mind that is a 20+ win team.   11-7 in conference play is extremely attainable.  
 

Congrats to staff and players.  9-4!!!  
 

Spiro said it best today..  fast and furious pace of assists that truly hasn’t been seen the past decade during the Skerry era.  

Not sure that math is 100 percent. All teams besides Ohio state. Monmouth and San Fran have a combined 37 wins. 18 of those are navy uncg and pitt.  Non conf schedule was decent for what we needed. Some cupcakes some decent teams that prepare you for caa. 

we did show well against the higher end teams. Only bad loss is pitt. Today was our best win statistically.