MBB holds on to beat Nicholls 65-55

[mat1992 2,236]

https://towsontigers.com/news/2023/12/22/mens-basketball-three-hit-double-figures-to-lead-mens-basketball-to-65-55-win-against-nicholls-on-friday.aspx

I'm not going to get all recappy here, because if you saw the game, there were a few things that Towson did better than the Colonels. 1)Rebounding 42-33. 2)Taking care of the ball: 11 turnovers from Towson, 15 from Nicholls. 3)Passing. Towson had 14 assists, while the Colonels had seven.

But this was a bad basketball game if you like good shooting. If you like defense, great. Towson may have played their best defensive game of the year, led by Mekhi Lowery (3 blocks) and Nendah Tarke (13pts, 2 stls). 

Tarke got the start tonight as did Tomiwa Sulaiman (for Messiah Jones, who was injured in practice this week). Thought he played well at times and he started the game off with a 3. He started the second half off with a basket and a steal with a transition basket. I'd like to see him eventually drive more though they almost exclusively played zone and we took 28 three pointers (made 7). He went 2 of 7 from 3 and Towson shot just 7 of 28 overall. 

The biggest issue other than FT shooting (12 of 26) was the play of Charles Thompson. He fouled out (after a technical foul) and wound up playing just 18 minutes, going 0 for 4 from the field and grabbing five boards with four turnovers. This is as big a regression as I've seen from a five-year player or four-year player in a long time if not ever. Apparently, there is no injury and he's just missing everything around the basket.

Let me get to some comments from the player and coach..

[mat1992 2,236]

 

[mat1992 2,236]

Nicholls State is undersized and not very deep but they do play hard and played much better in their loss at Maryland on Tuesday than they did today. 

Big concerns are free throw shooting, breaking the press (bad two games in a row even with Tarke tonight), facing zones (they'll be facing a ton) and CT32. But, this team did find a way to bounce back from a ridiculously tough loss to Bryant, who crushed Drexel today by 18. I don't really know what to think about this squad going into conference play. The only identity we have should be on the defensive end and on the boards. I did see some pressure today off a few made FTs (there weren't many) and I think it's a must with Lowery and Tarke.

Lowery was fantastic in the first half and he didn't score a point. The shooting isn't always going to be this dreadful. I thought the ball movement was so much better than it was earlier in the season and Tarke helps that some. Guys were missing and missing wide open shots. But if the passing continues to improve we'll be ok. NOw we need our post players to finish.

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

Pat said it in the post game..  our current freshman & sophomores have to play like veterans “to get where we want to go”

[Chris Datres 423]

The free throw shooting made me want to bite down on the kernels at the bottom of the bag of my nickel popcorn.  That’s as bad as I’ve seen a college team shoot from the line.  May nearly airballed one.  I was a bit dismayed by the 28 3’s until my dad pointed out that just about all of them were good to great looks.  So at least there weren’t any ill-advised 3’s where you’re like ‘what are you doing?’.

Tarke looked to be a steady force out there.  Gotta have him and DW to handle the press.  And defensively, they brought it against a team that until the last 4 mins was shooting around 27%.  Nice to get back in the win column but it’s very much still a work in progress headed into conference season. 
 

Also, was surprised the refs had restraint cuz Skerry could have easily got T’d up in first half when he hit 2 f bombs down the court and yelled BS across the court to one official.  These college refs put up with way too much. 

[TSU88 1,073]

A solid W vs a team that went toe-to-toe with MD the other night. Interesting lineup adjustments, with Jones and Tejada to the bench, in favor of Tarke and Sulaiman. I think this W was largely attributable to the D, as we shot under 40% for the game, including a dismal 7-28 from 3. Chucking up 28 3’s just isn’t our game. Speaking of shooting, the foul shooting was dreadful. Most of the misses weren’t even close. They’ve got to clean this up somehow. 

Pro’s: I really like Tarke’s game. If he could shoot FT’s he’d have scored 16-17 points tonight;

May: Averaging 20ppg over his last 4 games;

Lowery: I love his game. Not much scoring tonight, but 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocks;

Chase Paar: Really nice game, including 4 assists

 Cons: Dreadful foul shooting & 3-point shooting; 

Jones: Still not sure what they saw in him;

CT: At the risk of being a broken record, he just can’t finish at the rim. Remember that stretch 2 seasons ago, when he was averaging like 15 points or so a game? Pepperidge Farm remembers. 

Anyway, on to that epic clash vs Concordia, before the start of conference play. 
 

 

 

 

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

6-6 in ooc play. Meh. Defense great.  Paar a boost. Charles awful. Forwards bad. Lowery good. 
Too many threes.  Need about half as many.  Not good Looks when Suliman is shooting more than 1. 
Beat a 2-7 team. Happy to be lucky to play them thr second game 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

14 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

6-6 in ooc play. Meh. Defense great.  Paar a boost. Charles awful. Forwards bad. Lowery good. 
Too many threes.  Need about half as many.  Not good Looks when Suliman is shooting more than 1. 
Beat a 2-7 team. Happy to be lucky to play them thr second game 

They did beat LSU who beat North Texas & Wake Forest.  
Win #199 for Pat.  I’ll take it!

Charles gonna make us all look silly once he starts turning it around.   That guy I won’t count out.  

[TuTigers2012 1,071]

11 minutes ago, Bay Area Tiger said:

They did beat LSU who beat North Texas & Wake Forest.  
Win #199 for Pat.  I’ll take it!

Charles gonna make us all look silly once he starts turning it around.   That guy I won’t count out.  

“199” no. And next Saturday also no. 
 They were 2-7 going into today. It is what it is.  
 

Hope so. Nice guy but he’s been awful this year.  Looks off. Technicals. Flagrants etc. . Maybe it’s the pressure or playing with lesser players. No disrespect to mr Towson but if his legacy is this season, he may be looking for a refund. 
 

[Bay Area Tiger 347]

6 minutes ago, TuTigers2012 said:

“199” no. And next Saturday also no. 
 They were 2-7 going into today. It is what it is.  
 

Hope so. Nice guy but he’s been awful this year.  Looks off. Technicals. Flagrants etc. . Maybe it’s the pressure or playing with lesser players. No disrespect to mr Towson but if his legacy is this season, he may be looking for a refund. 
 

I think what you mention has some validity.  He’s trying to do too much at times.  No doubt he wants to be the guy who stuck around and helped get us to the Big Dance.  
He needs to settle in come Monmouth game and focus on 1 or 2 skills during a game and dominate them.  Keep it simple CT.  
Everyone on this board is rooting for him.