MBB holds on to beat Robert Morris 66-62

[mat1992 2,237]

https://towsontigers.com/news/2023/11/12/mens-basketball-four-score-in-double-figures-as-mens-basketball-defeats-robert-morris-66-62-on-sunday-night.aspx

Comments and quotes later

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

An ugly grind it out team win. This is how we need to play in order to win. Choppy in pieces, defense wasn’t great especially after the 8 minute media in the first half. Probably the last time we will be above 500 this year 

Not sure why pat was calling a timeout late in the game to set up a play. Worst play calling coach in the country and we ran shit that led to a shot clock violation. 

This team has no star.  No real first option but it’s a team and everyone needs to contribute, and has the last two games.

Tejada has been our best offensive player. Have to be impressed with his game and confidence so far.   
Need to play teams like Robert morris more often. These are games that help, not the locals, naia, etc. 
 

[tualum 108]

6 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

An ugly grind it out team win. This is how we need to play in order to win. Choppy in pieces, defense wasn’t great especially after the 8 minute media in the first half. Probably the last time we will be above 500 this year 

Not sure why pat was calling a timeout late in the game to set up a play. Worst play calling coach in the country and we ran shit that led to a shot clock violation. 

This team has no star.  No real first option but it’s a team and everyone needs to contribute, and has the last two games.

Tejada has been our best offensive player. Have to be impressed with his game and confidence so far.   
Need to play teams like Robert morris more often. These are games that help, not the locals, naia, etc. 
 

For some reason I sense sarcasm in the positivity with 2012..😅

[mat1992 2,237]

Good crowd (1,900+) for a Sunday during football season. Strange when you look at the numbers, but Messiah Jones played just 18 minutes and had just 2 points and 4 rebounds. Fortunately, Tomway Sulaiman played better, scoring 10 points and grabbing 4 rebounds off the bench. If you dominate a team by +16 on the boards, you shouldn't struggle to win a game at the end, but this is what we are. We have to outrebound and defend teams to win. Making more free throws (11 of 19) would help.

One word: Tejada. That's it.

[mat1992 2,237]

Comments from Tyler Tejada about playing late in a close game

"It was nerve-wracking a little bit, but I trust in the work that I put in and it was a great experience and atmosphere. Glad I was a part of it."

Charles on rebounding

"That's one of my best qualities. Rebounding. Somebody is going up for a shot, I'll probably be there for the miss. That's a focus for me."

Tejada 

"Following your training. Being Towson-tough. I look up to Charles, Messiah and Rahdir. Stay aggressive. They help me get mentally locked in and figure things out."

Charles on defensive struggle

"We had a nice little cushion. We dipped for a second. We remember how were at Colorado when we had a slow start in the second half. Remember how we played in Colorado, helped us push through."

[TSU88 1,074]

4 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Probably the last time we will be above 500 this year 

We’ll come out of the Charleston tournament 2-4, but I’m not sure it’s a certainty that this is the last time we’ll be above .500 this season. 

But I do agree these are the kind of rock fight games we’ll have to win. I take it as a positive thst we pulled out a close W, given our past struggles in this area. RMU struck me as a pretty decent team. Their guy Williams was a 4-star recruit who transferred in from LSU.

I liked Lowery’s play, with 2 dunks. He can be disruptive on D. Sulaiman looked good tonight, and Tejada may be a real find (he also had 3 assists tonight). Maybe he’ll be the 1st Skerry freshman to avg in double digits. No question we don’t have a go-to scorer, but May will hopefully improve as the season progresses, to go with CT, who I thought was pretty dominant inside tonight, with 14 & 10. 
 

 

[mat1992 2,237]

Skerry opening

"Good win. They're a good team. Andy Toole is a good coach. They played hard. They run good offense. They are hard to guard. We just couldn't shake them. This game will benefit us later on. Our defense was pretty good. Our backboards were good. We just had some untimely free throws and turnovers. Our guys hung in there and showed some toughness and togetherness."

On Sulaiman

"We have 10 guys and will play 10 liberally. In fairness to our guys, I have to coach better. I'm still trying to figure out, who, when, what, where, and why. We're not there yet. We're just not. THis is going to be one of those years, we have 10 right now. Last couple of year, we finished with 10. We're optimistic where we might finish with 12 which could potntially really help us. Our depth is going to be a strength of the group."

On Lowery

"He's a great kid, He's going to be a good player. He's so long and plays hard. We're a little top heavy. He played center last year. Now he's a wing. He's our third-string point guard. Tejada played center and he's a wing."

On freshmen playing public HS (from Patsos)

"Parfait and Pat O'Connell did a great job recruiting them (Lowery and Tejada). Those guys are going to be really good. They're great teammates. We're not looking at them like freshmen. They've been here since Memorial Day. We need them. They can't play like freshmen."

On depth

"It's helpful. We're excited about the two (new) kids we've signed. Has a chance to be the best two we've ever signed early. If we can get a kid on campus, we have a great university. When we get kids here, it's a pretty easy sell. We've had some success lately. Guys like Timberlake, Thompson, Gibson. Those guys have stayed. We find the right type of guys and hopefully they appreciate what the university can do for them."

On close game

"I told our guys that if we don't play well, we're going to get beat. This could be a 3-7 type of team in our league. We'll find a little bit more about tough teams next week. We have great opportunities. But we need to keep getting better."

"The first seven or eight minutes in the second half against Colorado. We didn't throw our best punch. Was a little disappointed in that. These guys are connected. I have to figure out what fits offensively at certain times. I wish I felt like I was there yet. We're not. I like the way we guard and rebound. That should give us a chance to hang in there most nights."

On close games

"We were 2-7 in close games last season (one and 1 1/2 possession games). I think this group communicates a little more consistently. That starts with Hicks and Thompson."

"There was a calmness to our guys. They are competitive but not combustible. Hopefully that will help us throughout the season. Christian is a guy who we will need. He'll get there. That was a big play (put back).

 

[mat1992 2,237]

The key to this season is obviously getting Tarke back and Cole, who is really talented, but way behind the other freshmen because he has played on and off for a little in practice and mainly non-contact. But there is a chance he could play sometime after the Charleston Tournament. Whether that's before conference play or not, he's hopefully on schedule to play shortly.

Getting back to the game. 

Let's start with the negatives

Chase Paar against a smaller team. If it wasn't for the foul trouble with Jones and Sulaiman early on, I would have played eight tonight. Tyler Coleman and Chase's lack of quickness are really evident on the defensive side as Coleman gave up two layups in the first half. We'll definitely need Paar in Charleston against bigger teams. But against mid-majors without a big center like Amir Williams or Brezovic, I'm surprised we haven't gone small yet with Jones at center because that's what he played at Wofford. 

Guard play. Dylan Williamson had just two points but did have a big shot late in the game. Ball movement. Yuck. Seven assists. You saw what really good ball movement was today with Robert Morris. They didn't just swing the ball around the perimeter, but they got the ball in the paint and if they had no advantage.

Three-pointers. Analytics don't say that we should take just 10 threes (made 3). The lack of ball movement is an issue right now. Hopefully, that improves as the season goes on.

Positives

I know Christian May is not shooting the three well, but I love the fact that he's attacked the basket in the first two games. He's actually improved his mid-range tremendously, but if he can get back to his 39% three-point shooting of last season, that would be a big help. 

Yet, the difference between May and Tejada was shown at the line. Tejada calmly sunk two to put the game away and May missed two FTs, which was followed by more missed FTs from CT.

Tejada has really blossomed and he's one of the few who has the potential of a complete offensive game. He can post up smaller guard, he can put the ball on the deck and drive and he has a good three-point shot. The timeout that was called late in the game was apparently for Tejada and that he had his shot blocked, but that showed that they have confidence in him.

Lowery is about 10-15 more pounds away from being something good on both ends. He's starting to show some dribble-drive game and well, he's fun to watch in transition. It would be nice if we could get out on run more, which would be nice if we had two more guards.

The best news was that we came out with a win in a close game. 

[mat1992 2,237]

27 minutes ago, TSU88 said:

We’ll come out of the Charleston tournament 2-4, but I’m not sure it’s a certainty that this is the last time we’ll be above .500 this season. 

But I do agree these are the kind of rock fight games we’ll have to win. I take it as a positive thst we pulled out a close W, given our past struggles in this area. RMU struck me as a pretty decent team. Their guy Williams was a 4-star recruit who transferred in from LSU.

I liked Lowery’s play, with 2 dunks. He can be disruptive on D. Sulaiman looked good tonight, and Tejada may be a real find (he also had 3 assists tonight). Maybe he’ll be the 1st Skerry freshman to avg in double digits. No question we don’t have a go-to scorer, but May will hopefully improve as the season progresses, to go with CT, who I thought was pretty dominant inside tonight, with 14 & 10. 
 

 

Even with Tarke and Cole, I think we'll have a lot of rock fights. It's basically like 2013 seeing so many post ups.

[TSU88 1,074]

Tarke was very engaged during timeouts. I feel bad for him, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll see the court sometime this season