MBB edges UNCW, 77-76 on Fobbs' free throws

[mat1992 2,233]

http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=235455

https://towsontigers.com/news/2019/1/31/mens-basketball-towson-clips-uncw-behind-balanced-effort.aspx

With 12.5 seconds left and Towson up 75-73, Jaylen Forbes was fouled by Brian Fobbs at the three-point line. He missed the shot but proceeded to make all three free throws to put UNCW up, 76-75. Fobbs then got fouled by Forbes on a drive with 5 seconds left and made both free throws. A last second attempt by Kai Toews was short and the Tigers were victorious for their third of their last four games. Towson moved to 8-15 and 4-6 in the CAA. Fobbs led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Here are some quotes from Skerry after the game on 1300am

"We made some errors. Tough environment. We've lost at the buzzer last 3-4 years here. Thought our seniors were tough. McNeil 11pts, no turnovers. Tough D. Alex played tough D on Cacok. TJ (Howard)was really good tonight. Fobbs mental toughness making those FTs. He's playing at a really high level. We're starting to win some close games. These guys are working hard. We're not complete yet. Seems like UNCW is doing a lot of flopping on those three-pointers."

[mat1992 2,233]

Alright guys, I was wrong on this one. I thought we would need a huge effort from Fobbs and to dominate the boards. We did a great effort from him but only won the rebound battle by +5. That's still impressive considering Cacok had 11 rebounds and is the No. 2 rebounder in the nation. 

Still tough watching us throw the ball away and the lead away against the press and we really struggled against their zone in the second half. Not sure why Dottin didn't play from about the 12 minute mark and on because Howard can't really break you down off the dribble. He can make some tough shots but when you look at +/- and I know thy can be deceiving. Dottin was +11, Tunstall +12, Howard a -10 and Solomon had another rough night (-11). We were terrible at the line (10-18), which was one of the reasons it got close. That and a few fouls from beyond the arc, where Skerry though they flopped. I did think Fobbs might have glazed Forbes at the end. 

But I get why Dottin doesn't play late, due to his FT shooting. Yet, this was a night where Tunstall hit a 3 and Dottin hit his first career three. Yes, that was Tunstall's first career three and I'm not sure he ever attempted one.

Great shooting for the most part at 59%. On the negative side, Sanders fouls out again, for the sixth time this season in 14 minutes. He couldn't handle Cacok but always get a charge by trying to go one-on-one off the dribble. It never works. Betrand also with three bad turnovers, one where he passed up a 3 in the corner and just ran over a kid standing still. You could see that one a mile away. But only 11 turnovers and a nice road win against a so-so UNCW team but they are usually tough at home.

Let's not forget that they beat us the first time at SECU, 67-61. Kai Toews destroyed us with penetrating and kicking to open three-point shooters. They weren't supposed to help out. In the first half, we didn't help out and he destroyed Dottin, Betrand and Howard. In the second half, we went a little zone but mainly had Jordan on him and he shut him down. Hopefully, Betrand will develop into a defender like Jordan with a better offensive game. He certainly has the tools. With Toews, he's extremely quick but you have to give him the perimeter shot. Once he starts making that, it's over. Nobody will be able to guard him and you will have to help on him.

[TSU88 1,070]

Nice W, but nothing comes easy for us. Up 14 in the 1st half & 12 in the second. I swear we must lead the country in fouling on 3 point shots.

Fobbs was great. 24 points on 9-13 shooting, plus 11 boards and the game winning foul shots. Howard, McNeil & Tunstall were also solid. Sanders (naturally) fouled out. How about Tunstall & Dottin both hitting 3’s!! Tunstall had really nice form on his outside shots. If he could consistently hit a couple jump shots a game it would be a great compliment to his rebounding & shot blocking.

All things considered, for this squad to be 4-6 in conference play is an accomplishment.

[mat1992 2,233]

Just now, TSU88 said:

Nice W, but nothing comes easy for us. Up 14 in the 1st half & 12 in the second. I swear we must lead the country in fouling on 3 point shots.

Fobbs was great. 24 points on 9-13 shooting, plus 11 boards and the game winning foul shots. Howard, McNeil & Tunstall were also solid. Sanders (naturally) fouled out. How about Tunstall & Dottin both hitting 3’s!! Tunstall had really nice form on his outside shots. If he could consistently hit a couple jump shots a game it would be a great compliment to his rebounding & shot blocking.

All things considered, for this squad to be 4-6 in conference play is an accomplishment.

Well, nothing is going to come easy for us on the road. We're not NE, Hofstra or CofC. I thought we should have been leading by 10 at the half with Cacok out but it was 5. Yet we found a way to win in the second half despite a few turnovers against the press, a couple of bad fouls at the 3-point line (Skerry said they flopped) and some bad zone offense. We're nowhere close to as experienced and deep as last year's team but I'm not sure that squad had the mental toughness to win a game like this. Not saying we're better in any way. Just saying we're getting better in three of the last four games. Improved since playing UNCW the first time. Now this time, it wasn't necessarily the freshmen, though I thought Dottin was pretty good offensively in 15 minutes with 7 points, 3 assists and one turnovers but he couldn't defend Toews. Baby steps.

[TSU88 1,070]

Their press definitely got them back into the game. Betrand had some mind numbing turnovers & our foul shooting was mediocre, but still found a way to win on the road, in a gym where we rarely win. 

59% from the field. When we shoot well from the field (Delaware, NE & tonight) we can win. 

[mat1992 2,233]

If they (Seahawks) go zone the entire game, they probably win. I don't know why they don't just go zone and press out of it. They can't defend one-on-one. They are awful but we shot a reasonable 48% in the second half against the zone. Shot 68% in the first half. That's incredible but not realistic the rest of the way. But we don't win these games without Al Thomas. He's the unsung hero here and is saving us because Sanders can't last more than 15 minutes without fouling out.

[mat1992 2,233]

 

[sr16 158]

What a fun game to watch. Fobbs still carrying the team, after showing some patience another great game by him ... 4-6 in the caa definitely could be way worse. Hopefully they can continue to gel into the caa 

[TuTigers2012 1,061]

48 minutes ago, sr16 said:

What a fun game to watch. Fobbs still carrying the team, after showing some patience another great game by him ... 4-6 in the caa definitely could be way worse. Hopefully they can continue to gel into the caa 

Didn't get to watch this one but tracked most of it.  Almost gave me a heart attack in the last 8 minutes.  We again can never make it easy. I like that we beat a team similar team (in stature) that plays a vastly different style than us, on the road.

 

Shot very well by our standard especially against a bad defensive team, but still manager to score in the mid 70s.

Got solid contributions from everyone and Fobbs had a great game. He is a terrific rebounding guard. Won without having a great rebounding day, but still got 38% of our misses.

Hopefully next year we can create more live ball turnovers, those numbers are atrocious. Leads to easy points which we desperately need to take advantage of.

FT's, we have not been getting to the line this year, which was our bread and butter and helps slow the game down (the way Skerry wants to play.)  Since the last UNCW game, teams have shot 66 more 3's than us (9.5 Per Game) and 31 more FT's than us, which is crazy, as most 3 point shooting teams would seem to be fouled less than teams who go after it on the glass.