Gibson leads MBB over Hofstra 78-66 (story)

[mat1992 2,231]

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=370334

https://towsontigers.com/news/2022/1/11/mens-basketball-towson-mens-basketball-lights-up-hofstra-with-16-threes-in-victory.aspx

Heck of an effort on both ends of the floor without Terry Nolan and Radhir Hicks. I'll have more in the quotes section about their statuses, but Hicks is not likely to play this weekend and Nolan could play. 

Spent about 25 minutes in the press room getting quotes so I have a lot to transcribe. Just going to say Jason Gibson was fantastic. Not just shooting the ball, but controlling the offense for most of the game and played pretty solid D. Cam Holden as usual was spectacular not as much scoring, but rebounding, control the game late and making great passes.

 

[TuTigers2012 1,061]

Very nice win. Solid game all around. Probably the best player game of the season. 
Hofstra is 7-7 but has had some good games against some good teams. No Nolan but no Cooks for them as well

Career games for Gibson and Gray

tigers improve to 3-3 on the year against teams .500 or better 

Edited January 12, 2022 by TuTigers2012

[mat1992 2,231]

Juwan Gray

"We played how we knew were capable of. The ball movement was key. We were able to hit our shots and in the second half. We picked up our defense. We held them to 33% shooting in the second half. That was key for us."

I feel great. My last go-around. I'm enjoying every moment. Great group of guys to be around. 

I felt like a lot of stuff off the court, helps us gell on the court. We all get along well. It's always great to be around the guys, which makes it easier to be on the floor. We're all very unselfish. We're willing to make the extra pass to get an open look for my teammates. 

On playing without Nolan and others

"Terry is an intricate piece to our team, but our mantra all year. 'We all we need, we all we got.' Come game time, that what we're going to use as the challenge to beat the other team."

On defending Estrada the second half

"Just to be more aggressive in the ball screens. They were hitting the short roll a lot and hitting a lot of passes out of the hedge. Coach emphasized be more aggressive on the ball screen and have high hands so they can't skip it around."

[mat1992 2,231]

Jason Gibson

"Hofstra is a great team. Very well coached. Luckily we made shots and defended, rebounded. A team win tonight."

On playing 39 minutes without Nolan

My wind was good. I felt good. I knew that I was going to have to step up and play more minutes tonight and I was prepared to do that. A team win. We all contributed big to rebounding. It wasn't just me hitting shots. I was hitting open shots and we defended well in the second half. "

On back issue

"That was big for me. To do that in the offseason (surgery). To be able to lift and do the normal things."

On scoring 26 a career high

"It was my teammates giving me confidence. Just told me to keep shooting. Reload the gun. I was ready to shoot and my guys found me and I made a lot of open shots."

On new faces compared to last season

"Team chemistry. We're a lot more connected than we were last year. We're just grateful to be playing and practicing. Staying in a routine. That's been big for us. We have good guys on the team that will make the open pass and will defend for each other.  That's big and that's a difference for this year."

On reputation as a 3-point shooting team

"We have a lot of good shooters (laughs). We like to hang our hat on defense. When we're not making shots and we have nights like that, we have to defend. "

On depth

"We have multiple people who can shoot. Radhir can come in and give us good defense. The amount of depth is one of the differences from last season."

We're just going to go into every game trying to execute the gameplan. We have to make shots, defend and rebound. We're going to keep it going and keep defending. That's big for us. We have to defend."

[mat1992 2,231]

Cam Holden

As a team, we played through the hot guy. Any night it could be Terry, Jason, it was a huge night for Jason. We have a bunch of unselfish guys. Even though I lead in points and rebounds. Jason was scoring. I don't mind giving him the open pass if I have a shot because that's the way we play. That's part of our success. I got energy when he was scoring because has had a game besides Coppin where he was in a rhythm. Credit to Hofstra. I feel like they took away my post game tonight and made me feel uncomfortable. Gibby did a great job of taking us over the hump.

On playing with the mask

"I feel a lot more comfortable (since Drexel game). I feel more natural. A lot of people call me Bane from Batman. I kind of take it in and embrace the mask. At first, I used to bite it a lot. I can't play in it. I got very upset on the bench one time and Coach O'Connell took me and said I have to embrace it. Thanks to him, I have to embrace it. I hate it, but I have to play with it to win."

"Playing the game the right way. I'm not very big on accolades. I got first-team, second-team all-conference before. I'm just all about winning. I came to Towson to win.  It doesn't matter how many shots I take. As long as we win, I go to the locker room smiling. If we lose, I'm not going to be smiling. My shot attempts.....if I see my guy open, I'm going to pass it to them. I don't have the problem making the extra pass. If they miss, I'll go rebound it."

On lack of turnovers

"Credit to the staff. When they see a mismatch, they feel I can make a play. I can take advantage of so I get going or get guys involved. Charles is a great post guy, so when he rolls and the shooting we have with Gibby, Antonio and Juwan. Me making the decision with a big slow guy on me. I like the decision with three minutes to go to let me close out. It's a big time transition by making a post guy guard the ball screen. I'll make the right decision."

On Jalen Ray going 2 for 10

He's a great scorer and great shotmaker. Estrada. He's a problem. He had a big night. We knew Ray could have a big night. Tough defense and our hedging bothered him (Ray). The way we play defense is a bit different than the other teams in the conference. They guard the ball screen a little different than what we do. We tried to bother him and I'm sure he'll adjust when we go there."

 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

Great stuff Mat..  appreciated.  
PS praised Nick’s defensive efforts on Ray today.  
2-1 CAA record and can’t wait to have Nolan back.  
11-5 and this team is legit.  
Congrats to players and staff.  
 

PS- Gibson like a video game again today.   When he’s in the zone it is very Curry like.
 

[mat1992 2,231]

Pat Skerry opening comment

"Really proud of our guys. Beat a very good, well-coached Hofstra team. Our defense was very good in the second half. Our staff deserves a lot of credit. Parfait had the scout and Kevin (Clark) got into some of the guys at the half and challenged them. Nick and Juwan were excellent and Pat (O'Connell), who handles our defense did a good job. Hofstra is a hard team to guard. They have so many guys that can take you."

On Jalen Ray

"Try to make him take tough shots. He's like Jason in Friday the 13th. That guy has killed us so many times. I think Nick's effort was really good on him. He tried to make him take hard shots. They are well-coached and know how to play. We didn't change anything. Juwan's length bothered some guys. The staff got those guys ready to play."

On Nolan and Hicks

Hopeful. We want have Radhir this weekend. Terry is possible. We had some wacky games last week where they struggled with shortness of breath and light-headedness. Happened at Drexel and again Saturday. Strange times we're living in. We have really good medical people and we're just trying to make sure they are ok. Terry is really good and such a great leader and infectious personality. He's trying to coach out there."

On playing without them

It's a little bit easier knowing that you weren't going to have guys then all of a sudden in the middle of the game. The other night, Radhir had to go to the hospital in the middle of the game (Drexel) and Terry had to have tests in the last game. That's tough. Guys have to do their job and just be ready to play. Everyone is going through that. It's been an odd year, but these are some awesome guys to be around. We haven't had everyone together a lot. It's not because they didn't do what they were supposed to do. Just some crazy stuff. Hopefully, at some point we'll have a 2-3 week stretch where we have everyone.

On his team that shares the ball

"By far best team we've had (sharing the ball). We've never had a year where we said don't move the ball. Their intent is really good. We had a couple of nights where we haven't shot the ball well. We didn't shoot it well against Drexel, but we got some good looks. If we keep moving the ball, we'll get open looks. Jason looks like Steph Curry. We've had other teams where it's like running in the mud. It's just fine. It's a lot easier when the ball goes into the basket. We've had a lot of teams that couldn't....not going to say.

 

On Cam

"He's playing with a broken jaw and a mask. He's about as complete a guy as we've had since (JB). He practices like that. Pat O'Connell recruited and found him. Kudos to him. Good players make you look good as a coach."

On Jason Gibson

It's toughness. Had major back surgery,  then he broke a bone in his hand and missed all of preseason. Then go Covid. Keep him healthy. He helps us.

On unselfishness and shooting

"We've had a lot of teams that took shots. They just didn't make them a lot. These guys can make them, which helps. We have a lot of guys that can shoot. We've tried to make adjustments in recruiting and offensive stuff. The disaster that we had last year gave us a chance to get ahead of that. Change things philosophically. Get ahead of the portal. Hopefully we can keep them afloat. It's good shooting, but good passing. That will help you get good shots.

Juwan Gray

Proud of him. Achilles. Good student. Good ambassador. Good guy. Experienced. Playing well. He probably could be starting. He's not saying anything. It's easy to root for a guy like that."

[griggey20 178]

1 hour ago, TuTigers2012 said:

tigers improve to 3-3 on the year against teams .500 or better 

I’ve never met someone more half empty about a team they root for. You’re Randy Quaid in Major League II. 

[TSU88 1,070]

Helluva win, especially without Nolan. Never thought I’d say this, but we’re going to sink or swim on our 3-point shooting. Skerry has come to the dark side 😆. A poster on the Hofstra message board had it right when he commented, “who are these guys? Not the typical Towson squad of guys built like football players, putting back missed shots.” (Not an exact quote, but pretty close).

When these guys move the ball and space the floor, it’s all about nailing the 3’s. Can’t expect Gibson to drop 8 3 balls every game, but he doesn’t necessarily have to, if Rizzuto, Gray, Nolan &/or Timberlake are on. It’s amazing to me how effective Timberlake is from the corner, when he doesn’t kick out his legs when he shoots. 

Also kudos to the D tonight, for doing a nice job in forcing a talented team into a poor shooting performance.

A couple of random thoughts: it was refreshing to watch a game that wasn’t interrupted by constant whistles. They might have played the entire 2nd half without a break, but for Hofstra calling a timeout with about 10 minutes left in the game. Also, was nice to see Jones drain a 3. Wonder if he’ll get some meaningful minutes going forward 

 

[mat1992 2,231]

5 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

Helluva win, especially without Nolan. Never thought I’d say this, but we’re going to sink or swim on our 3-point shooting. Skerry has come to the dark side 😆. A poster on the Hofstra message board had it right when he commented, “who are these guys? Not the typical Towson squad of guys built like football players, putting back missed shots.” (Not an exact quote, but pretty close).

When these guys move the ball and space the floor, it’s all about nailing the 3’s. Can’t expect Gibson to drop 8 3 balls every game, but he doesn’t necessarily have to, if Rizzuto, Gray, Nolan &/or Timberlake are on. It’s amazing to me how effective Timberlake is from the corner, when he doesn’t kick out his legs when he shoots. 

Also kudos to the D tonight, for doing a nice job in forcing a talented team into a poor shooting performance.

A couple of random thoughts: it was refreshing to watch a game that wasn’t interrupted by constant whistles. They might have played the entire 2nd half without a break, but for Hofstra calling a timeout with about 10 minutes left in the game. Also, was nice to see Jones drain a 3. Wonder if he’ll get some meaningful minutes going forward 

 

Yes, quite interesting when there was no 16-minute media timeout and no 12 minute TO with Speedy calling a timeout at around 10:30. You rarely see guys play through two media timeout without stopping play. Yes, it was refreshing to see the officials just let them play in the second half. Nobody was in foul trouble. That kind of happens when you have two perimeter-oriented team. Did I say that? We're perimeter-oriented. Well not completely, but it's nice to guards playing that well.