By Nick Sterling
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Coming off a 10-win season, the Towson men’s basketball team was motivated to prove that this year would be different.
Mission accomplished.
In the second half of an opening-night doubleheader Tuesday at SECU Arena, the Tigers beat George Washington 72-58. Here’s a look at five takeaways from the game.
The first half was no masterpiece
It’s the first game of the season, so it’s no surprise that both teams came out rusty. It took nearly 10 minutes for the first team to reach double digits. In that early stretch, George Washington had eight turnovers to Towson’s three. The Tigers defense was pesky in that stretch, forcing quite a few shot clock violations.
Allen Betrand emerging as the team’s second star
Late in the first half, Towson went on a 13-2 run, giving the team a nine-point lead going into the half. The driving force behind that run: Not Brian Fobbs, but sophomore guard Allen Betrand. Averaging just 4.6 points per game his freshman year, Betrand scored 13 points in the first half, including eight points in the final three-and-a-half minutes. He finished the game with 18 points.
Game-changing dunks inspired Towson — and the home crowd
In the midst of the 13-2 run to end the first half, forward Charles Thompson finished a monstrous dunk to energize the crowd. Early in the second half, it was forward Dennis Tunstall who caught an inbounds pass in mid-air and dunked the ball. The crowd was even louder this time. The final dunk was the icing on the cake for Tunstall, who came back from injury to put down the dunk after a miss by Fobbs.
George Washington’s attempt at pressing failed
About halfway through the second half, GW trailed by double digits. Realizing they needed to make a change, the Colonials decided to start full-court pressing. The press forced a turnover right away but Towson easily adjusted and consistently broke the press from here on out.
Towson’s foul trouble didn’t matter, but it might come back to haunt them
While it didn’t hurt the Tigers this game, they should be aware this is not a trend they want to follow. Towson put GW in the bonus before the 10-minute mark of the second half. The team committed 17 fouls for the game. This problem will need to be fixed before Towson starts to play tougher opponents.