“I’m very proud of my team,” Head Coach Joe Mathews said. “I feel like for the first time, especially in the second half, that we saw a fight and a real desire and determination from [the team], to say ‘This is going to stop. We’ve got to get a win.’”

Senior point guard Krystal Parnell had 14 points, including the game-tying layup with 7 seconds to play in regulation to send it to overtime.

The difference in the game was the foul shot efficiency for both teams. Towson shot 20-23 for the game, with senior Deree Fooks and Parnell combining to shoot 15-17. Georgia State shot just 7-14 from the line.

The score was neck-and-neck throughout. Neither team led by more than 5 points in the first 23 minutes of play. Georgia State went on an 8-0 run at the beginning of the second half, before the Tigers answered right back with an 8-0 run of their own. Neither team led by more than a basket from that point until overtime.

The Panthers’ Kendra Long hit a 3-point shot with 1:03 to play in the second half to give Georgia State a 48-45 lead. After Fooks made a pair of free throws, Towson fouled to send Jerlisa Taylor to the line. Taylor made the first shot, but missed the second.

Trailing by two with 21 seconds left in regulation, Parnell sent an errant pass out of bounds that gave the Panthers the ball back. After fouling again, Taylor missed her one-and-one opportunity, which gave the ball back to Towson, down by two, setting Parnell up for the game-tying basket.

“I was going to the basket, and I know heard [senior, Sheree Ledbetter]’s voice, and I passed it right out of bounds,” Parnell said. “In the huddle I was so mad about it. But then my team told me ‘Let it go, let it go,’ and I just kept that in my mind when I went to the basket to get the [game-tying] layup.”

Fooks led Towson with a season-high 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. The rebounding total is also the team’s highest of the season, and the highest by a Tiger since Feb. 28, 2010, when Katrina Wheeler grabbed 18 for the team in a home win against Delaware.

In the last four games, Fooks has averaged 14.5 points and 9 rebounds.

Towson remains in ninth place after Sunday’s win, but Mathews doesn’t believe that the slot in the standings does his team justice.

“I whole-heartedly believe that this league is that close,” Mathews said. “Quite honestly, when you get to two through twelve [in the standings, behind Delaware], I think it’s anybody on any given night. It’s all about the team that has the most confidence in what they do, that believes in what they do.”

This was Towson’s first trip to overtime since Feb. 3, 2011, a loss at Drexel, and the first at the Towson Center since Jan. 14, 2010, a loss to James Madison.

The Tigers play on the road against William & Mary Thursday, before hosting Northeastern Sunday at the Towson Center.

(Idiot’s note: If you haven’t realized it yet, our print deadline was before kickoff.)

[Unexpected player] really stepped up and helped his team. Tom Brady/Eli Manning led their team to another Super Bowl victory and has really solidified their place as an elite and possible Hall of Fame player. Who would have thought that about [a seventh round draft pick/Eli Manning]?

I think Brady’s decision to wear Ugg boots really helped/hindered his performance. Manning’s patented confused look really confused/amused the New England defense.

Suprisingly/not surprisingly, Chad Johnson/Ochocinco showed up/did not show up and delivered like he had in year’s past/did not deliver like he hasn’t all year. We do know that he delivered free Beats by Dr. Dre headphones to all of his teammates. I would too, if they had to drag my over-Tweeting, under-delivering ass to the Super Bowl after years with the hapless Cincinnati Bengals.

I’m really just upset that the New England Patriots/New York Giants have more Super Bowl wins than the Washington Redskins.

(Idiot’s note: Fuck the Cowboys!)

(Idiot’s note: There are some things that I can predict with almost certainty. Too bad you didn’t have this column in time to make any of those silly prop bets.)

Rob Gronkowski was amazing. The record-setting rookie tight end walked his tight end right into the end zone. Like a little debilitating foot injury was going to stop him from scoring. That guy could score in a nuns’ convent.

Kelly Clarkson really ate the National Anthem up! Of course, we know she eats everything up.

And those commercials weren’t really worth the $3.5 million dollars. None of them were that great – even the ones for Acura/Chevrolet/Chrysler/Ford/Honda(with Matthew Broderick doing his best Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller impersonation/Kia, Budweiser/Coors/Miller, David Beckham/Adriana Lima, “The Avengers”/”The Dark Knight Rises,” or Tim Tebow’s over-religious, under-knowledgeable ploy to confuse/enrage the masses. But you’ll still watch them all day Monday on YouTube.

How about that halftime show? Who let Skeletor perform? Just when you thought the Super Bowl halftime producers couldn’t embarrass themselves more than last year’s Black Eyed Peas craptacular.

Next year? Nickelback and Justin Bieber.

A ton of pressure is placed on guys and girls to make Valentine’s Day either special for the one that they love, or find something to do besides watching “The Notebook” and crying alone.

When it comes to me, Valentine’s Day is not about romance, but about love.  Many times these words become synonymous on this day, but it doesn’t have to be that way. I love tons of people, as I am sure many of you do, so why not show all of them some love on Valentine’s Day?  Surprisingly you don’t have to break the bank to get cute on Valentine’s Day, and here is how.

Valentines! Remember when you were in elementary school and you and your mom would buy that box of 24 valentines for your class? Why did that fade away? How cute was it to get a little card from someone in your class? Well, why not do the same thing for your friends here? Leave your roommates a post-it note, or go out and get those little childish cards! You can show anyone that you love him or her, even if it is not romantically.

Sweet Treats! If you have been to Target or any drug store lately, you will see that the colors pink, white and red have basically invaded the candy aisles.  Between heart-shaped boxes and M&M’s that are not the ordinary broad spectrum of colors, it is hard not to feel your sweet tooth craving something this time of year. So share the love with friends or classmates. Give out some candy to the ones that you love to let them know just how sweet they are!

Valentine Phone Home! If you are not in the presence of someone to give them a card or a treat to show your appreciation, why not call just to tell them that you love them?  Say that you were thinking about them on this special day!

So this Valentine’s Day, committed or not, make everyone feel the love. It doesn’t take a lot, but it does feel good to let those around you know just how much you love them and that they are all your valentines.

At first, I thought they were just talking, but then I looked on the ground and saw something that made my blood boil. Some Towson students thought it was appropriate to attack the religion of Islam by chalking such epithets as “Down with Islam” and “Stop the Islamization of America.” I am not going to name names, but anyone who is a frequent reader of The Towerlight must surely know who did this.

To the students who did this, I have only one thing to say: You are cowards, using your anonymity as protection while disparaging a sizable number of our student population. If you were brave, you would be standing out with signs expressing your views. But we know you won’t, because you know you are in the minority. You claim that you are against a religion that has caused much blood to be shed. But if you really wanted to attack a religion that preaches violence and hate, you need only look in a mirror.

Christianity has caused as much bloodshed and wars as Islam has, if not more. Luckily, the Towson police officers were quick to get a clean-up crew to the scene and wash away the chalk. Towson, we are better than this. This culture of fear and intolerance must be wiped out before these students cross a line that cannot be undone.

Last semester, we all noticed the major increase of crime around the Towson community. Honestly, it was scary to see how crime has risen.

But even worse is that the spring semester just started and almost four crimes have already been committed. We get text messages and emails alerting us of the crimes that have already taken place and we are told be very cautious. However, what is being done to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place? I suggest, and am sure many others will agree with me, more police presence.

Why? We are now a targeted community.  And it’s no fun feeling unsafe in the area we go to school and live in. For the Towson community, Baltimore County police presence needs to be increased. And at Towson University, Towson police presence needs to be increased. If there is more police presence around most areas, the perpetuators will get the message that we are aware that you are targeting this community and we are here to stop you and make you go away.

Towson University is a great institution. And I want to feel safe in and out the classroom.

During the Winter 2012 trip, 53 students took the rest of the many donations from the school store and community. Prior to both of the past two trips, there was a shoe drive and collections focused on children’s shoes and clothing.

The University Store generously donated nearly $15,000 worth of unsold/overstocked merchandise, including much-needed children’s shoes, blankets and other clothing. The majority of the donations we took to Honduras came directly from the University Store.

With poverty so rampant in Honduras, parents do not have enough income to adequately provide for their familes, often relying on children to beg in order to make ends meet. Clothing, especially shoes, is very expensive for these families and any assistance or donations greatly reduce financial burdens.

As an alumnus and as Towson students, we should all be very proud that our University Store is civically minded and is doing its part in helping the world. Though Villa Soleada and other small villages in northern Honduras may not know the great successes of our football team, we can rest assured that they are still yelling “Go, Tigers!”

Thank you, University Store, for everything.

This would hopefully cover journalists and the publications they wrote for in instances where remarks made by reporters on the microblogging platform did not align with the viewpoints of their employers.

This approach was not thorough enough for the Associated Press, which instituted a new social media policy for their staff in November 2011.

“ReTweets, like Tweets, should not be written in a way that looks like you’re expressing a personal opinion on the issues of the day,” the guidelines read. “A reTweet with no comment of your own can easily be seen as a sign of approval of what you’re relaying.”

As a student journalist looking to enter the field soon, I was concerned about this policy, especially from an institution whose name is included in the title of a work many refer to as the bible of the industry. The fighters for freedom of speech were seeing their own rights limited in an attempt to remove all bias.

This mentality has even filtered into Towson University’s policies for student social media use, including blogs created for classroom use and the webpages the Towson Tiger server hosts.

“Towson University is not liable or responsible for the content of any student assignments, regardless of where they are posted,” according to a liability statement on many of the syllabi students are required to read in the department of mass communication.

This removal of responsibility, while understandable in a University setting constantly under threat of legal fire, ignores the idea of free speech on the Web instead of actively arming against it, a practice recently picked up by the football department.

But the fear of libel, plagiarism, hate speech and other harmful use of words shouldn’t stop online communication any more than it should deter spoken word.
It is necessary to have a forum of discussion not only about controversial current events, but as a way for young adults to broaden their global reach and come to their own conclusions based on a flood of information and opinions.

Our staff is not an exception to this idea. While on Towerlight business, editors, reporters, photographers, videographers and all staff members represent The Towerlight, as well as themselves, as para-professionals.

But in terms of their social media accounts, having their name printed in The Towerlight staff box does not alter their right to freedom of speech.

The opinions expressed in Tweets and reTweets of Towerlight staff members, as well as posts on their Facebook profiles or fan pages, personal blogs, and other social media platforms, reflect only their thoughts and beliefs, even when related to content hosted on The Towerlight’s website.

We aim not to facilitate or restrict social media use, but encourage the generation of positive discussion in a marketplace of ideas.

With awards season in full swing and Oscar nominations announced, there is no better time than now to start separating the hopefuls from the winners.

For quite some time, I have used the Golden Globes as my guide. If an actor wins the Golden Globe, then the odds are in their favor for the Oscar.

However, the road to an Oscar has become even more monotonous and predictable than the Golden Globe theory.

Since 2000, six Best Actress and seven Best Actor awards have gone to performers acting in a biopic. Add to that another three from each category were adaptations of critically acclaimed novels. This leaves only three original characters in the past 11 years between the categories.

It is no secret that the myth of an “Oscar recipe” is alive and well. Anne Hathaway even joked about how her nude scene in “Love and Other Drugs” was not enough to grasp a nomination.

With the most obvious being the “real person” or character adaptation, there are still a slew of predictable acting stints aimed at the golden statue.

Perhaps the easiest ploy is a thick accent that automatically gives the allure of beautifully controlled acting. Along with the voice, a strong physical transformation and publicized role prep will insure that an actor is seen as a serious artist.

One of the most common themes that pads an actor’s ability to portray utter greatness is if a storyline, most specifically the biopic, details the inner secrets of a character’s rise from underdog to champion.

We have marveled at the stories contained in “Milk,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “The King’s Speech” and “Erin Brockovich”- no surprise to the film studios.

The patterns and connections are endless. As an avid movie watcher, I believe that the strongest performances are indeed those that sensationalize public figures and stories of “truth.”

With the biopic, audiences can live vicariously through the film as if they actually experienced a special moment in our history and culture. The actors themselves also access these connections, which I believe only strengthens their inspiration and ability to genuinely embody another persona.

Now let us come back to the present Oscar race. Ladies first: we have Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” and Michelle Williams as a pop icon in “My Week with Marilyn.”

This particular pair of actresses will undoubtedly be the biggest contenders for the honor, as they both won a Best Actress award in their film’s respective category at the Golden Globes. Both create equally moving portraits of untouchable women from the past.

Despite the women’s category coming together as neatly as one could predict, the nominees for Best Actor, although brilliant, seem to be missing a key player: Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio was to finally call the honor his own with his portrayal in “J. Edgar.” Released just in time for peak Oscar visibility and directed by none other than Clint Eastwood, I would have expected magic to happen.

With the glow of nearly half a century as the head of the FBI, a metamorphosis of DiCaprio into a 70-year-old man, a supposed hidden homosexuality, and a plot driven by J. Edgar Hoover’s own quotes, this film should have been Leo’s ticket.

But alas, maybe there isn’t a clear cut “Oscar recipe.” However, as a creature of habit when it comes to my own film choices, I would still be willing to bet that the Academy is swayed no differently.

Following an NCAA investigation, the player was suspended for the Mountain Hawks’ next playoff game against North Dakota State, a game they would ultimately lose.

That is when Ambrose got on Twitter and observed some of his own players who were active Tweeters.

“I watched about seven or eight players from Thanksgiving until Jan. 1,” Ambrose said. “If I were to have adhered to the letter of the law, I bet we would have suspended 50 percent of my team and at least 50 percent of the athletic department.”

So Ambrose decided to ban his players from Twitter until further notice.

“It’s not about controlling [the players],” Ambrose said. “It’s about safety. It’s about the appropriate uses of it and how not to be hurt by it. If these kids put something out there that is misinterpreted by the wrong person and blown up in the media, they are ruined for life. People are afraid to stand up and say anything. It is a privilege to play football. It is a privilege to represent the institution and it comes with responsibilities.”

Ambrose made his point clear to his team when they returned to campus following Winter Break.

At the team’s first meeting, he told his players about new the rule and shortly after many of the CAA champion Tigers sent out their final Tweets.

“We have to delete our twitter see u later tweets!!!!! #R.I.P.,” Jerry Rice Award-winning running back Terrance West Tweeted on Jan. 29.

“#Coachisreallymakingusdeleteallourtwitterstho,” quarterback Grant Enders Tweeted.

“How u even delete this ?” All-CAA safety Jordan Dangerfield Tweeted.

Players were not available to comment on being made to deactivate their accounts.

Ambrose, who has Tweeted from his own account more than 1,000 times, said his new rule is for the best interest of his athletes.

“Every member on this team doesn’t like all of our rules, but every member of this team understands the reason that we have rules is for them,” Ambrose said.  “Everything we do is for the benefit of the student athlete.”

The supervising of social networking sites is done on a campus level, though it can also serve as an information source in NCAA investigations, according to Emily Newell, NCAA postgraduate intern for public and media relations.

“Institutions need to ensure their personnel, student athletes and individuals affiliated with the institution are following the NCAA guidelines in place,” Newell said in an email. “If violations are discovered, it is the institution’s responsibility to report those violations and educate the individuals on how their actions could possibly affect the school and the eligibility of themselves/student-athletes. Failure to do so could result in more severe circumstances if not addressed.”

Towson’s 2011-2012 Student Athlete Handbook states, “the Department of Athletics does not place any restrictions on social networking sites (myspace.com and/or facebook.com).” It does not mention Twitter.

Director of Athletics Mike Waddell, an active user who has sent close to 8,000 Tweets, said that this is strictly a football program decision, not one of the athletic department.

“I don’t micromanage my coaches,” Waddell said.

If any player breaks this rule, they will be suspended indefinitely, according to Ambrose.

“When you take on the role of a Division I athlete, you do so in the name of the institution,” Ambrose said. “The institution is bigger than the person.”

On Feb. 3, The Harvard Crimson reported that assistant men’s basketball coaches at the Ivy league school are assigned to monitor players Twitter accounts. Schools such as the University of Texas at Austin, Louisiana State University and the University of Florida have installed tracking software called UDiligence to the Facebook and Twitter apps of their student athletes.

In 2010, the University of North Carolina football program banned Twitter following an NCAA investigation concerning players Tweeting that they were receiving improper benefits. The investigation eventually led to multiple player suspensions and the firing of former Head Coach Butch Davis.

Howi Spangler, lead vocalist and guitarist for Ballyhoo! - Casey Prather/ The Towerlight

The Towerlight recently named Ballyhoo! the Towson’s Best Local Band of 2012. We  got an opportunity to talk with lead vocalist and guitarist, Howi Spangler, about Ballyhoo!’s show at the Recher Theatre this past Friday. 

TL: How does it feel to play for a hometown crowd and how does that differ from playing elsewhere on the road?

HS: I think a lot of people have been watching us over the years and when we go out and do something big like play with 311 or with our recent announcement of playing Warped Tour, all these big shows, and then we kind of come home and we get to play for people that are from the same town, and I think they’re proud of us that’s just a good feeling. It’s always just a big burst of energy from the old-town crowd because we don’t actually play here much anymore. We used to, so it’s nice to come back home and feel that love knowing those people are still there with us.

TL: You look like you have a busy summer. You mentioned 311 and your Warped Tour announcement. Talk a little bit about 311, Bamboozle, and Warped Tour.

HS: This is all stuff that’s been in the works for a while. We started plying with 311 in 2008 and they keep bringing us back for stuff. We did their Pow-Wow Festival in Florida back in August. That was amazing. It went over really well, as far as we’re concerned. I think they felt like it would be good to have us back for their cruise, which is in May, and we get to sail around the Caribbean. We’re really excited about that. We’ve never been on a cruise, so that’s awesome.Bamboozle, that just kind of came around. It just so happens that the Foo Fighters and Blink-182 are headlining and we’re really excited about that. And of course Warped Tour, which is something that’s materialized over time, as well our label, Law Records, which is the guys in Pepper. We signed to their label and they kind of put in a good word for us. It was just really cool to get that invite.

TL: Are you guys fans of the other bands on these tours? Can you maintain a professional act?

HS: In the Warped Tour, there are a lot of bands we’ve never met before and a lot of bands we’ve never even heard of before, so that’s pretty exciting. Of course you know with 311, that’s always just awesome. They always put together a good bill. It’s always a good, comfortable time.The Warped Tour is going to be a big whirlwind. Like, 100 degrees. Just every day and sunny and gross and just insane, you know? It’s going to be great to play for new fans and it’s going to be brutal from what I hear.

TL: When are you guys going to find time to do the “Daydreams” tour?

HS: We’re pretty much doing that now. We’re doing our own headlining stuff. We’re leaving next week. Recher’s kind of kicking off the next leg. We’re going off next month to California and back supporting “Daydreams” and pushing other songs and trying to have people buy our record and get new fans and all that and everything else kind of takes over.

TL: You guys have taken another leap since signing with Law Records and in the methodology of your songwriting and lyrics. Talk a little bit about how producing “Daydreams” was different from your previous releases.

HS: We actually had some money to lock ourselves in a studio this time. Before it was always like, we have 100 bucks, how much time can we get today? So, we pretty much locked ourselves up for three weeks in a studio last March and just really banged it out. We spent an average of 12 hours a day in the studio practicing songs over and over again. We wrote a lot of songs in the studio and just had a really good time with it. There was a lot less pressure with it that way, too. We saw that we had time.

TL: Can you talk a little bit how writing in the studio differs from writing outside?

 HS: Going into the studio with songs that I had already written or the band had already written feels like there’s less pressure because the songs are already written. But there’s also something cool about just jamming in the studio and coming up with something off the cuff.

TL: Your mother’s passing has been the subject of a lot of your songs. How does it feel to share something so personal like that with a live audience?

HS: It’s therapeutic. But when the song is done, it becomes everyone’s song. Everyone who wants to hear it, it becomes their song. So it pays off for me when we go to shows to play the songs and someone coming up to me and telling me the song has touched them. It just means a lot. That’s also part of the therapy: How it comes back full circle to me. I don’t mind sharing things like that. Being personal in my lyrics is all relative. Everybody goes through the same things and I think people can respect it and really appreciate when it comes straight from the heart like that.

TL: Your influences have obviously changed and grown. What are you listening to now?

HS: Everything. Our iPods are just ridiculous, eclectic mixes from Tool to Slipknot to Bob Marley and Steel Pulse and the Roots. There’s all kind of stuff. Everybody takes some sort of influence from everything that we’re listening to. The core of the songwriting, the sound, is always based on our love of Green Day, Sublime, 311, and Incubus, bands like that. That’s kind of like what the band’s sound is. But no matter what we do, people are always going to know it’s Ballyhoo! I think they’ll dig it.

TL: I think the biggest transition has been Scott (DJ Blaze) moving away from the turntables to the keys. Has he been comfortable with that? Is it a personal thing or a band decision?

 HS: We all kind of saw it coming. Scott started doing more ambient sounds, and we were kind of like, ‘You sort of play piano, this would sound really cool on piano.’ It was awesome he can do that and he got a hold of it really well. Now there’s a new layer to the music and we’re all really excited about it.

TL: When can we hear about you guys being back in the studio?

HS: Right now, we’re just focusing on doing work with “Daydreams” and playing as many songs as possible and as many shows. We’re going to get through the summer and possibly get into it after Warped Tour.

TL: Any good stories from the road?

HS: On our first tour, our van caught on fire. It sucked at the time, but it’s awesome now. One time we stayed in this girl’s house when we were touring with two other bands. We get there, she lived with her parents, and the place is covered in dog shit. Just a lot of little funny, goofy stories like that. That was back in the old days when we first started touring.

TL: Anything else you want our readers to know?

HS: Stay with us on Facebook and Twitter. Our music is available on iTunes or your favorite digital store. This is a big year, so look out for us. Tell a friend, buy a T-shirt, and have a good time with us.