President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle watch as the Oregon State Beavers, coached by Michelle's brother, Craig Robinson, defeat the Towson Tigers 66-46. - Casey Prather/ The Towerlight

The Tigers could not have asked for a better audience for their home opener against the Pac-12’s Oregon State. It’s not often that more than 3,000 people attend a basketball game in the Towson Center. But when the leader of the free world is in the stands, things change.

President Barack Obama and the First Family sat courtside to cheer on the Beavers and their Head Coach Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother. And the Obamas weren’t the only celebrities in the stands. Actor Bill Murray, who starred in “Groundhog Day,” “Caddyshack” and “Ghostbusters,” was in attendance, supporting his son Luke Murray, an assistant coach for Towson.

At the start of the game, the OSU defense played relaxed, and Towson took an early lead. The score went back-and-forth through three-quarters of the first half, until the Beavers applied a pressure defense, which gave the Tigers trouble. Towson started giving up possession, and OSU opened up a 12-point lead at the half.

“It deflated us a little bit. We have got to learn, like a lot of young teams, when you get kicked in the teeth, just move on to the next play,” Towson Head Coach Pat Skerry said.

The Beavers (5-1) cruised in the second half, earning a 66-46 victory to conclude their 11-day road trip, and leaving the Tigers (5-0) winless.

“I know how it is when a Pac-12 team comes to a place like this. It’s a big game,” Robinson said. “Then you’ve got, on top of it, my relatives are here, so it makes it even bigger. We needed an environment like this with a true road game.”

Towson committed 21 turnovers in the contest, bringing their season total to 116 in five games. The Tigers average 23.2 per game.

“Until we rectify as a staff and let the players do a better job of taking care of the basketball, we are going to have some long nights,” Skerry said.

A major reason why Towson kept the game close early on was the fact that they out-rebounded OSU. The Beavers struggled to find their shooting touch early on, and the Tigers effectively crashed the boards. But despite being out-rebounded 38-23, the Beavers heated up and made eight 3-pointers in the game.

Towson sophomore Marcus Damas continued to prove that he can be a consistent offensive source for the Tigers. The transfer forward recorded a game-high 18 points and got his double-double by reeling in 10 rebounds.

“Going into Kansas and Michigan, I was just learning the spots in the offense and getting better. And Kris [Walden] is finding better ways to get me the ball as well,” Damas said.

Damas said he and his teammates remain positive despite the early season losses.

“Every day in practice, it’s what we go through and together as a family. We are always excited to be on the court and get better,” Damas said. “It’s really exciting, as far as the President coming, but basketball is always exciting to me.”

Oregon State guard Jared Cunningham entered the game as the Pac-12’s leading scorer, with just over 22 points per game. The Tigers held him to 12 points.

The Tigers are playing the ninth-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. Skerry said he hopes that will help his players once it is time for Colonial Athletic Association play.

“Obviously that’s a challenge. But that is something that we can grow from and get better,” Skerry said. “At the end of the day, good teams and good programs do the little things every day that give you the chance to win basketball games: defend, rebound and take care of the ball. We are not there yet, but hopefully playing against these really strong programs that will be in the postseason will benefit us when we get into CAA play.”