Tigers end NCAA record 41-game losing streak In his first season at Towson, coach Pat Skerry inherited a 19-game losing streak and a roster full of trouble.
His best player, Isaiah Philmore, transferred to Xavier and his second best, Braxton Dupree, left to play professional basketball. One player departed after flunking drug tests, another was dismissed for academics. In the summer, Skerry’s top recruit failed the NCAA clearinghouse process. Then the night of the first day of practice, his lone returning starter was arrested for assault and thrown off the team.
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“Somebody asked me if the cabinet was bare,” Skerry said. “I said, ‘There is no cabinet.’ We have to buy the house and put them in.”
| Ending the skid |
| Towson forward Robert Nwankwo incurred the wrath of some of his teammates on Friday, when he ran out of gas during line drills. On Saturday, however, the senior was a hero as he blocked a shot with two seconds left to ensure Towson’s 66-61 victory over UNC Wilmington. The win ends Towson’s NCAA Division I-record losing streak at 41 games. With nine seconds left, sophomore forward Erique Gumbs, the lone returning letterman for Towson (1-22, 1-10 CAA), scored on a breakaway dunk to give the Tigers a 64-61 lead, setting the scene for the game-clinching play. |
When Towson opened the season at perennial power Kansas on Nov. ?11, it was with one player from last year’s team. Twenty-two losses later, Towson is in the history books. But the Tigers’ 41-game losing streak, the longest ever in Division I, came to an end with a 66-61 victory over UNC Wilmington on Saturday.
Despite the record skid, a succession of humiliating blowouts and national attention for all the wrong reasons, there is giddy optimism at a program which has not had a winning season in 16 years or an NCAA berth in 21.
Next fall, Towson will take the floor with two transfers from Big East schools and four incoming freshmen judged by CBS.com to be the best recruiting class in the CAA.
Prospects are so bright that Skerry has researched the NCAA record for a single-season turnaround (17 games). By the time the Tigers move into a new $68 million arena in 2013-14, they hope to do it with a winning team
“We’re gonna be markedly better,” Skerry said.
That’s fine for Skerry and his potential-laden future cast. But what about senior forward Robert Nwankwo, the Tigers’ top rebounder, who sat out last year with academic problems and pulled up his grades, motivated by the opportunity to play his final season of eligibility?
And how about freshman Kris Walden? Thrust into a larger role than even he considered possible, Walden has grown as a leader on and off the floor. The 6-foot-1 point guard doesn’t want to think about next year.
“We have a team full of guys with pride,” Walden said.
During the losing streak, there were plenty of close calls. Towson took No. 24 Virginia to the final minute in a 57-50 defeat. In the toughest loss to swallow, 62-58 to UMBC, Towson hit just eight of 25 free throws (32 percent).
Among 344 teams, Towson scores the fewest points (48.8 per game) and makes the most turnovers (19 per game) in Division I. The Tigers rank next to last in field goal shooting (36.1 percent) and second to last in free-throw shooting (56 percent).
Before Saturday’s win, Towson’s last victory came on Dec. 29, 2010, at La Salle 93-90 in overtime. The rest of last season was a study in frustration as coach Pat Kennedy’s Tigers lost 10 of their final 19 by six points or less. One of those losses came to VCU, an eventual Final Four team.
After Kennedy’s contract expired, new athletic director Mike Waddell hired Skerry, formerly an assistant at Pittsburgh, who was quick to establish discipline on and off the court and cut ties with those who resisted.
“Our habits nine, 10 months ago did not belong at any college basketball level — lifting academics, off-court stuff,” Skerry said.
Twelve weeks into the season, Towson has improved vastly according to Skerry and his players, though the evidence is not always visible on the floor.
“The games are excruciating,” Skerry said. “But the practices have been great.”
One of the reasons Skerry prefers workouts is the presence of guard Mike Burwell, a transfer from South Florida, and forward Jerrelle Benimon, a transfer from Georgetown. In these sessions, Skerry can see the future of Towson basketball.
“There are a lot of games where we know we could make a difference. It’s hard to watch,” Benimon said. “Next year will be a complete turnaround.”
