At the beginning of the season, Towson men?s basketball coach Pat Kennedy stressed the importance of hustle plays. Under his direction, the Tigers would stress hard work and the turnover margin, all with the goal of finding an edge in play. In September, Kennedy talked about charting deflections and tipped balls “because we?re a little smaller and quicker.”
Understanding that strength was key to Monday night?s 70-62 win at Loyola.
“I?m just so happy for these guys,” Kennedy said. “They?ve worked so hard.”
The Tigers (8-9) have played six games since Jan. 1, including four since Jan. 8. In that span, Towson has gone 2-4. Next up is a road game Thursday at second-place Hofstra (12-5 overall, 5-1 Colonial Athletic Association).
“That Temple to Hofstra [stretch] is probably the toughest stretch I?ve coached in,” Kennedy said, highlighting a 10-game stretch from Dec. 16 to Jan. 18.
Two of those games went to overtime, and six were on the road. Within that stretch, the Tigers started to come out flat in games. That was not the case Monday.
“If you look at our past four or five games, we always come out with a slow start,” said Tigers? senior guard Gary Neal, who scored 33 points in Monday?s win. “This is a game we wanted to come out and be ready to play from the tap. And I think it came out that way and that?s why we won the game.”
Another reason why Towson escaped with a win was its ability to hold a lead. While Loyola (9-7) made a pair of runs to tie the score ? once in the first half, once in the second ? Towson never trailed.
“Every time they made their run, we never broke,” Kennedy said.
With an oddly timed non-conference affair out of the way, Towson can now focus on the rest of the CAA schedule.
The Tigers have 12 conference games left to make up ground from their current eighth-place standing.
And now, in the heat of the season, the Tigers might have finally found their identity.
“I kept saying, ?In January, we?ll be the team we are,?” Kennedy said. “It was really a terrific win and an important win for us.”
NEXT UP FOR TIGERS
» Towson visits Hofstra Thursday at 7 p.m. That game can be seen on ESPNU and heard on 89.7 FM.
» Starting Saturday, Towson will play three straight at home. UNC-Wilmington visits Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip, while Delaware (Jan. 24, 7 p.m.) and Hofstra (Jan. 27, 4 p.m.) loom next week.
