In front of over 1,000 fans, Les Rouge et Or led briefly 41-39 in the second half but the Tigers turned it on late and won by 20.
Towson defeats Laval
QUEBEC CITY, QC, Can. - The Tigers hit high gear Friday night and ran away with the second victory of their Canadian tour when they beat the Rouge et Or of Laval University 83-63.
Towson entered the contest a little shorthanded with starting point guard Troy Franklin on the bench with an ankle injury he suffered the previous night at UQAM. Eight Tigers dressed, all played and all scored in what turned into a rout.
Leading by nine, 64-55 with 6:30 left to play, David Brewster scored seven points in a subsequent 14-0 run that gave Towson its largest lead, 78-55, and sapped Laval of any fight the Rouge et Or had left in them.
"The last 20 minutes of the game is the best we've played since we've been on our trip," said head coach Pat Kennedy. "We shot well, we rebounded the ball well and we finally accomplished all the things we want to accomplish on the tour. We had all the pieces tonight and everybody contributed."
Five players tallied in double figures led by Josh Thornton's game high 23. Brewster finished with 13 points along with Jarrell Smith. Calvin Lee and Josh Brown each chipped in 11 points.
Laval maintained a slim advantage for much of the first half, leading by as many as seven (34-27) on Christian Deslariers-Trottier's three point basketball. But the Tigers never let the Rouge et Or out of their sight. Smith's three pointer with 10 seconds left in the first half (second quarter) sent the Tigers into the lockeroom with a 39-37 lead.
Jean-Francois Beaulieu Maheux, who led the Rouge et Or with 17 points, put Laval momentarily in command 41-39 when he opened the second half with a layup and two free throws. Thornton immediately countered with a trey, one of five in the game for him, to give Towson a lead it would not relinquish again. That started a 10-0 run. By the 10:00 mark the Tigers were up by double digits and cruising to their victory.
The Tigers conclude their Canadian tour schedule with a rematch against Laval Saturday evening. Tip off is 8:00 p.m.
DRIBBLES: Robert Nwankwo, the hero of Thursday night's 73-69 win at UQAM, had eight points, nine rebounds and six blocks ... Brian Morris played very well, having to assume most of the point guard duties with Troy Franklin on the bench ... Brian scored just two points but added five assists and ran the offense ... the Tigers shot well from the free throw line again, sinking 14 of 16 attempts ... Laval, ranked third in the Canadian college pre-season poll, has an enrollment of 45,000 students ... the attendance at the game was over 1,000, by far the largest crowd to catch the Tigers yet ... the Laval radio station carried the game but withdrew an offer to have coach Pat Kennedy on for a pre-game when it learned the Tiger coach didn't speak French.
Canadian Tour Schedule:
Aug. 17 @ Carleton Alumni (Ottawa) L, 59-69
Aug. 18 @ Carleton University (Ottawa) L, 83-95
Aug. 20 @ University of Quebec at Montreal W, 73-69
Aug. 21 @ Laval University (Quebec City) W, 83-63
Aug. 22 @ Laval University (Quebec City) 8:00
1 comment:
Two things about this article leave me puzzled.
First, what pre season poll has Laval ranked third nationally?
I wasn't even aware that there was a pre season poll in mid August.
And if there is, they might want to revise it based on this performance.
Secondly, what is this about a Laval radio station withdrawing an interview because the Towson coach can't speak French?
This sounds very strange.
Why would this station assume that an American college basketball coach could speak French?
I have a suspicion that this person who wrote this article got his facts mixed up.
I can't believe the Laval people would be that stupid.
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