 "Photo: Men's Basketball vs Buffalo by Christopher Curry / The Towerlight")
In a game of back-and-forth runs, the Buffalo Bulls came into the Towson Center and got key plays when it mattered most for a 78-69 overtime victory over the Tigers Saturday afternoon.
Bulls second half scoring run
“Our offense just looked sluggish at times,” Towson head coach Pat Kennedy said. “We shot the ball too quickly.”
Down 65-58 after Rodney Pierce made a jump shot with 2:48 remaining in the second half, Towson ended regulation on a tear. Sophomore point guard Troy Franklin's 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game, and Calvin Lee's block of a Buffalo player's shot as time winded down capped a furious rally and sent the 1,767 fans into a frenzy.
Troy Franklin Sends it into overtime
“My teammates were just finding me when I was open,” Franklin, who finished with a team high 17 points, said. “Coach just called a play and I just saw an opening. I took it and it fell.”
Troy Franklin Highlights
Towson was without the services of guard RaShawn Polk, who missed his second straight game, and starting center Robert Nwankwo, who sat out the game for what Kennedy called a coach’s decision. Those two players’ absences led to a smaller, quicker rotation.
Nwankwo, a solid defensive player whose strengths are rebounding and blocking shots, was sorely missed on the inside. Towson gave up 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 38 points in the paint for the Bulls. Towson had just eight. Franklin said that without Nwankwo, others needed to step up.
“We missed a big presence with Rob,” Franklin said. “Down low, he’s a monster. We have to move along forward with that, but we’ve got some freshmen who need to step up, because anything can happen on any given day.”
Those freshmen included forward Isaiah Philmore and Erique Gumbs operating on the low blocks, with underwhelming results. Listed at 6-feet 9-inches, Gumbs is the tallest player on Towson’s roster. But he played just seven minutes in the contest. Kennedy went with Philmore at power forward, while Lee manned the center position.
Philmore played 26 minutes, but was 0-4 from the field and had just one rebound. Lee got in foul trouble in the second half which seemed to limit his activity on the defensive end while he was guarding the more physical Buffalo tandem of Mitchell Watt and Jawaan Alston. The duo combined for 23 points and six rebounds, and guard Calvin Betts added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“Early in the second half, I had three [fouls], so I just wanted to clear my hands up instead of going for blocked shots so I could stay out of foul trouble,” Lee said. “All the banging [down low], missing Rob was big today. Playing the five [center] there’s a lot of banging, so you just have to get used to it.”
Bulls point guard John Boyer dished out 12 assists, two more than the entire Towson team, which finished with just 10.
Heading into the overtime session, Towson had a chance to capitalize on their newfound intensity.
But Pierce's jumper with Philmore in his face with 1:47 left in the extra frame and a Titus Robinson dunk on the Bulls next possession to put Buffalo ahead 74-69 put an exclamation point on the momentum the visitors had reclaimed, sealing the victory.
With the loss, Towson is now 1-1 this season.
Bulls overtime scoring run
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