 "Photo: Men's Basketball vs Miami (OH) by Casey Prather / The Towerlight")
Senior forward Calvin Lee scored 25 points and blocked four shots to lead the Towson Tigers to an 82-71 season opening victory over the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks Friday night in front of 3,259 fans at the Towson Center. Towson head coach Pat Kennedy said while he was extremely pleased with his team’s effort, he was just as pleased with the turnout of the crowd, many of whom were students eager to catch a glimpse of the team.
“It was just a great crowd,” Kennedy said. “There was a great student section and everyone involved in making tonight what it became did a great job. That was a fun night of basketball.”
Lee was the only Towson player in double-digit scoring, but five other players had at least eight points for the Tigers, who shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field for the game.
Point guards Troy Franklin and Brian Morris combined for 15 points and 15 assists while turning the ball over just three times.
“There was a much different feel out there tonight,” Kennedy said. “The kids played with great character, great heart and they played hard right until the very end.”
Lee started out hot for Towson, scoring 10 of his team’s first 17 points, which helped to overcome the Tigers’ otherwise slow start.
“My teammates believe in me and have trust in me,” Lee said. “We seemed kind of sluggish to start off with and my teammates got me the ball and I was just finishing plays.”
The Redhawks were much bigger and more physical, as shown in the 36-25 rebounding margin favoring Miami.
But Miami also turned the ball over 20 times, nine more than Towson, and wore down as the game went on thanks to the full court, trapping defense the Tigers employed late in the game. Led by walk-on guard Josh Brown, Towson was able to create turnovers and get out and run in the open court.
“They were physical at all five positions,” Kennedy said of the Redhawks. “This man-to-man [defense], we’re really going to try and get up and guard you 94 feet. Our defensive pressure is unbelievable. Josh Brown has been doing this all year [in practice]. I know he’s just a walk-on, but that doesn’t matter. He’s worked extremely hard and it’s been his dream to be a part of this team.”
The game also marked the debut of highly touted true freshman Isaiah Philmore for Towson. Philmore had offers from five NCAA Tournament teams from last season, but wound up at Towson to stay close to home and to play with fellow true freshman Erique Gumbs.
Philmore appeared tentative at times. He recorded just four points and two rebounds in 18 minutes, many of which came in the second half, but drew rave reviews from Kennedy.
“Isaiah is one of the smartest young basketball players I’ve ever coached,” Kennedy said. “He’s very intelligent on the floor. He does things instinctively and he’s going to be really good.”
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