What could have been Towson?s biggest win of the season Saturday instead turned into another close and disappointing loss.
Towson led by as many as eight points in the second half against Hofstra, the preseason favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association title.
The visiting Pride rallied, however, in the game?s final 10 minutes to leave town with a 64-60 victory.
Senior guard Gary Neal led Towson (10-11, 4-6 CAA) with 29 points, including 21 in the second half. Both Neal and junior forward Jonathan Pease had good looks at game tying three-pointers in the final seconds, but each shot came up short.
“When we have the lead we tend to get out of what we need to be doing,” Towson coach Pat Kennedy said. “I thought defensively we really just did a terrific job but couldn?t maintain the things we needed to win down the stretch.”
While Hofstra couldn?t stop Neal from scoring, the same was true for Towson against the Pride?s top scorer, Loren Stokes. Stokes scored 25 points and had six rebounds and Chris Gadley had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pride (16-5, 9-1).
C.C. Williams scored 11 points, Denard Abraham had 10 points while Tommy Breaux and Jonathan Pease each had seven rebounds for Towson.
“Nobody in the locker room is happy right now,” Neal said. “It?s a tough loss. We should have won. I honestly feel that way, with an eight- point lead with 10 minutes to go at home. But we definitely have to put this one behind us.”
Trailing 34-30 two minutes into the second half, Towson went on a 15-3 run over the next six minutes and built a 45-37 lead. Neal scored 11 points during that stretch.
Hofstra responded by outscoring Towson 19-9 over a six-minute span and took a 56-54 lead following a three-pointer by Stokes with 4:10 remaining. Towson trailed the rest of the game
“Collectively, for our group, Isee some inexperience,” Kennedy said. “When you look at a team like Hofstra, Stokes and those kids have been out there for four years as a group. So, sometimes, because we have so many new guys in a short period of time, we don?t exhibit the kind of experience you need to close it up.”
Tiger bites
» Towson, at 4-6 in CAA play, entered Sunday tied for sixth place in league play. Virginia Commonwealth leads the conference at 10-0 and is 18-3 overall.
» Hofstra, in second place in the CAA, has now swept the season series against Towson while also beating the Tigers in 20 of the last 23 meetings.
» Senior guard Gary Neal is now 12 points shy from scoring his 1,000th point in a Towson uniform. When that happens, he?ll be one of only three players in college basketball history to score at least 1,000 points at two Division I schools. Neal scored 1,041 points during his two years at La Salle.
