Towson University senior forward Jonathan Pease just wanted to beat a quality opponent. After five years and three knee surgeries, he was still searching for his first win in the lineup against an upper-echelon team from the Colonial Athletic Association. Saturday afternoon against Drexel, he nearly won the game himself. Pease matched his career-high in scoring and lifted the Tigers to a 86-77 win over the Dragons in front of 1,923 fans at Reitz Arena.
The Tigers had eight of its nine participating players score, five in double-digits, but was led by Pease, who recorded his second straight double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Josh Thornton (16), Junior Hairston (12), Rocky Coleman (11) and Tony Durant (10) all scored in double-digits for the Tigers.
“I?m a hot or cold shooter and I?ve been on a nice little streak,” Pease, who had never dressed in a win against George Mason, Old Dominion or Drexel, prior to Saturday, said. “When you are hot you want to shoot it as much as you can.”
Towson (6-9, 2-3 Colonial Athletic Association), used a 16-3 run to jump out to a 26-13 lead at the 7:59 mark. Drexel (8-9, 1-4), which trailed by as many as 14 points, was kept in the game by forward Frank Elegar, who scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the first half.
“We are getting to where all nine [rotation] guys are interchangeable,” Towson coach Pat Kennedy said. “Now, we are kind of getting the balance with everybody.”
The Tigers opened the second half on a 9-2 run, capped by a Junior Hairston jumper, to go up 47-38 with 16:54 remaining. Towson led by 11 at 54-43 with 13:41 left when guard Josh Thornton turned a steal into a fast break layup.
Drexel, however, would hold the Tigers scoreless for the next four minutes and trim the lead to just 54-50. But consecutive three-pointers by Pease, Rocky Coleman and Thornton pushed the Tigers bulge to 63-50 at the 8:39 mark.
The Tigers stretched their lead to as many as 16 at 71-55, when Tony Durant capped an 11-1 run with 3:39 left. Durant added seven rebounds off the bench.
“This win was huge, it saved our season and saved our confidence,” Pease said. “With our confidence right we can still be contenders in the CAA.”
