MBB beats Mercer 70-60 to go 2-1 in Savannah

[mat1992 2,237]

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=435277&vislive=tows

Sure, it would have been nice to go 3-0 and they probably should have been with a better performance against Fairfield. But considering the fact they had no Jason Gibson all weekend and sat Radhir Hicks the last two days, Towson came up with a 2-1 finish from Savannah, Ga., this weekend after beating Mercer 70-60.

Cam Holden was brilliant again with 24 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and just two turnovers on 9-of-15 shooting (5-5 FT). Towson also hit most of their free throws (14-17) and made 47.1% of their three-point shots (8-17). After being up by just one, 31-30 in the first half, Towson's defense clamped down in the second half. They still wound up allowing Mercer to shoot 43.5% (10-23) from the three-point line though a lot of that was from the first half (6-of-12) and then the Bears hit several down the stretch when it started to get out of reach (largest lead of 14 points).

The big story for Towson was the play of freshmen Christian May and Ryan Conway. Injuries certainly allowed Conway to get a lot of time this weekend, but he proved he deserved to be out there by playing mostly solid defense (struggles at times). In 25 minutes, he had 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting (3 of 5 3pt). More importantly, he had no turnovers.

May played 24 minutes and had five points and seven rebounds. Defensively, he still has work to do but he keeps getting better. Sylla played just 13 minutes and to be honest, that's about right or even too much. May needs to come off the bench for Russell. He can fit well with Cam when he posts up and plays with his back to the basket and if you get May and Conway out there, you take some pressure off Timberlake.

Nic had a rough weekend and continues to struggle with his shot, but he did have four assists (4 turnovers). He's really struggling trying to be "the guy". He was the guy against UNCG, but since then, it's all Cam. Just needs to relax and take what the defenses give him. I thought he could maybe become a slasher but seems to get a least a charge a game when he drives. 

More later with comments from PS.

[mat1992 2,237]

Ok, to the comments after a rough NFL Sunday (for local fans).

PS comments from Internet TSN after the game

"Mercer is hard to guard. Second half, (we were) unbelieveable defensively. Cam challenged our guys at the half. Basically, said Nic got to come home to UMass and now it's time to win for me in my home (to paraphrase).

"Charlies, Nic in the second half, Nygal and two freshmen were outstanding. Ryan made two big 3s. No turnovers. Earned a lot of trust from me. Charlie went to with that (7-2, 300+) mountain David Craig. I like our group. Down a couple of good players. Have a lot of stuff to work on."

"This is our 21st day and 8th game. On the road for 12 games (they get five days off before LIU)."

"Lost a tough one Friday. Bounce back the last couple of days, says a lot about our group. A lot to work on. Need to re-charge. Proud of our freshmen."

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

Cam was good this weekend. Nick was awful. Charles mix bag.  Conway looked good. I’ll take some bad d with a player who can shoot and some quickness. Thankfully they had the slowest player in basketball today and we were smart enough to take advantage.  

This was an ugly weekend.  If we don’t allow Fairfield WIDE OPEN looks all day Friday we probably go 3-0 against some mediocre to bad teams.  They battled but this is not Last years team and after 8 games we were overrated (at least to this point).  Schedule so far has been easy.  Clemson navy and Bryant will be ugly unless we get better. 

[mat1992 2,237]

Forgot about rebounding (39-31). Had 14 assists and 11 turnovers. Not great but not bad. 

Also, kudos to CT. Not a great finisher in the "red zone" in the first half but wound up with 17 points, 8 rebs., 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal on 6-of-12 FG and 5-8 FG. Bench had just five points and that was all May. Again, hate to keep harping on him, but Sylla needs to produce some points and has to develop a perimeter shot.

[mat1992 2,237]

15 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Cam was good this weekend. Nick was awful. Charles mix bag.  Conway looked good. I’ll take some bad d with a player who can shoot and some quickness. Thankfully they had the slowest player in basketball today and we were smart enough to take advantage.  

This was an ugly weekend.  If we don’t allow Fairfield WIDE OPEN looks all day Friday we probably go 3-0 against some mediocre to bad teams.  They battled but this is not Last years team and after 8 games we were overrated (at least to this point).  Schedule so far has been easy.  Clemson navy and Bryant will be ugly unless we get better. 

Gibson helps us offensively there is no doubt. We just have better spacing with him and he's another ballhandler. If we lose him for extensive time, it's going to be rough against those teams. But it's not about bringing your A game in November. If Conway can give us 15mpg off the bench when it counts and Gibson is healthy, we'll be ok. If Gibson is hurt, we're going to have to win a lot of rock fights and Nic is going to see a lot of attention. He doesn't need to put up 25, but I think some of these guys are looking at numbers so they can play overseas. He's pressing. Just needs to play within himself. If he can get 4-5 dimes than fine.

Let's face it. We didn't lose a lot but everyone is going to come after us this season and we're not playing our best at this point. Maybe we can turn it on in conference play, maybe not. Even the bad teams will be a struggle for us that way we are playing but if we can win the whole thing that way, I'll take my blood pressure going up.

[mat1992 2,237]

https://towsontigers.com/news/2022/11/27/mens-basketball-towson-mens-basketball-defeats-mercer-70-60-behind-a-double-double-from-cam-holden.aspx

[TSU88 1,074]

Look, I’ll take 2-1 with 3 games in 3 days, with a depleted roster. I don’t care who the opponents were.

You gotta love Holden’s game. He’s not a great outside shooter, but he more than compensates with the other facets of his game. Encouraging to see Conway and May get meaningful minutes and produce. OTOH, I have some nagging concerns about Timberlake. When he’s good, he’s very good, but when he’s bad…. I’m not a sports psychologist, but he strikes me as a guy who if he doesn’t hit his first shot or two that he gets down on himself, presses & goes into a funk. No es bueno.

Lets hope Hicks & Gibson get back soon, or at least by the beginning of conference play 

 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

7–1 record with 6 games on the road and all the expectations.  Don’t care who the competition has been..  impressive start to the season.   
 

We all have to ease up on Timberlake.  He’s playing 35 minutes a game.  Averaging 15 points and more importantly his assist to turnover ratio in the positive. 19-16 

Yes he struggled this weekend but he’s not a pro so expecting him to be great every single game is too much.  

2-1 with no Gibby and Hicks for only 1 of the games..  This could have easily been a 0-3 road tourney.

How many guys we play against Albany???  Don’t look now but PS has more groceries to cook with!

 

[Blounge 521]

Hopefully we’re healthy soon, need all our guys. Between towson and the ravens I always expect us to win and get very distraught when we don’t. Much needed rest and recovery week before the schedule gets really tough 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

2 minutes ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

7–1 record with 6 games on the road and all the expectations.  Don’t care who the competition has been..  impressive start to the season.   
 

We all have to ease up on Timberlake.  He’s playing 35 minutes a game.  Averaging 15 points and more importantly his assist to turnover ratio in the positive. 19-16 

Yes he struggled this weekend but he’s not a pro so expecting him to be great every single game is too much.  

2-1 with no Gibby and Hicks for only 1 of the games..  This could have easily been a 0-3 road tourney.

How many guys we play against Albany???  Don’t look now but PS has more groceries to cook with!

 

Lol. 3 on the road.  Sparkly record but have not played well at all. Which could be a good thing or bad. 
we need consistency. He’s not a freshman. He’s one of the oldest most experienced players in the country. We don’t need 25–5-5 a night from him. But he sulks and has been brutal on defense.