By Jalon Dixon
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Dubstep and DJ mixes played over the loud speakers. Cheerleaders danced along the baseline. Band members banged their drums, played their trombones and tubas, and banged the bleachers as part of a raucous cheer. The hardwood shook below players’ feet.
Groups of students grabbed Lays chips, hot dogs and chunky chocolate brownies and took their seats in anticipation of another basketball season.
It was opening night at Towson University and fans would not go home disappointed. In the final home opener of the decade — and only the second since SECU Arena opened in 2013 — the Towson men’s basketball team beat George Washington 72-58 Tuesday night.
Coming off a 10-22 season marked by injuries and close losses, the Tigers got redemption. They had lost to GW last year 68-64 in a game in which they were unable to come up big down the stretch.
It was the Tigers’ first victory over the Colonials since 1981 — and it broke a five-game losing streak against the team.
Breakout performances by sophomore guard Allen Betrand and junior forward Juwan Gray propelled Towson to victory. Their leading scorer from a year ago, Brian Fobbs, didn’t have to do it all. Betrand and Gray combined for 35 points and each had career highs in scoring.
Coach Pat Skerry was excited to see the growth of his team; the Tigers have two more weapons capable of standing out on this already versatile roster.
“[Betrand] is going to make a big jump and we’re not surprised — he had a big offseason,” Skerry said. “I told you guys we were trying to get [Gray] eligible for a reason. He gives us a weapon that we haven’t had. I’m excited but it’s only one game. I’m sure we’ll watch film and there will be a whole lot of stuff we got to work on.”
In the first half, the rust of the offseason showed as only 12 total points were scored between the two teams in the first eight minutes of the game. Betrand led the way with 13 points in the half to lead all scorers, and Gray chipped in an additional 8 points with two big 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 32-23 lead heading into half.
Coming out of the half it was clear that this was no longer the same Towson team from last year. Gray hit several big 3-pointers and Towson moved the ball well.
“I think it just all come with maturity,” Gray said. “Last year we had [10 new players] and it was new to everybody. With this offseason, we all had a chance to play together a lot more and develop relationships. Those relationships off the court can transition into success on the court.”
Towson’s tenacious defense and ability to switch across all positions showed as the team forced 15 turnovers leading to 17 points. Towson set out to shut down George Washington’s standout freshman guard Jameer Nelson Jr. They succeeded in some respects.
With his father and ex-NBA player Jameer Nelson watching from the stands, Nelson Jr. led the Colonials in nearly every statistic, including 15 points and 5 assists. But he also had 9 turnovers.
Skerry was proud of Towson’s defensive effort.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on being a good half-court defensive team and it starts there for us,” Coach Skerry said. “I think the other thing I hope I’ve done better as a coach is the better our offense runs, the easier it’s going to be for our defense.”
Towson takes on Bryn Athyn on Friday and has a showdown two games later with Florida in Gainesville.