Junior Hairston scored 16 points and made two free throws with 46 seconds left to lift host Towson over James Madison, 58-57, last night.
The Tigers (6-8, 1-1 Colonial Athletic Association) had trailed the Dukes (8-6, 0-2), who won four of their previous five games, most of the night. However, Towson turned up the defensive pressure and Hairston's free throws gave the Tigers their first lead since 15-13 with nine minutes remaining in the first half.
With 25 seconds left, a steal by Hairston gave the Tigers the ball. Robert Nwankwo was fouled with 21 seconds left, but he missed both free throws.
Devon Moore was double-teamed in front of James Madison's bench, and the Dukes called timeout with four seconds left. After the timeout, Andrey Semenov's long three-point attempt missed, and Towson held on for the win.
"It wasn't the 'Mona Lisa,' but we'll take it," Towson coach Pat Kennedy said. "This was a huge win for us. We've been on the road for weeks, and it feels great to come home and pull out a tough win. In the final minutes, they had some trouble with our 1-3-1 extended defense, and they couldn't get the open looks they wanted. Our guys played tremendous defense down the stretch."
After the Dukes took a 54-51 lead on a basket by Juwann James with 5:18 remaining, they were held without a field goal the rest of the way. On its final seven possessions, James Madison had three turnovers, made three of six free throws and missed a long three-point try.
Rocky Coleman added 12 points for Towson, and Jarrel Smith and Troy Franklin each scored 10.
James scored a career-high 24 points before fouling out for the Dukes. James' previous career high was 23 points, which he accomplished twice against Towson.
LOYOLA 86, CANISIUS 62: : Jamal Barney (Southwestern) scored 41 points on 15-for-19 shooting as the Greyhounds beat the Golden Griffins in Buffalo, N.Y.
Brett Harvey added 22 points to help Loyola (5-9, 1-2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) end a two-game losing streak.
Julius Coles led Canisius (5-8, 0-3) with 15 points.
Barney, a 6-foot-3 guard playing his first season for the Greyhounds after sitting out last season after a transfer from Providence, scored 20 of his 41 points in the first half, going 7-for-9 from the field. The Greyhounds, also taking advantage of 10 Canisius turnovers, took a 36-29 lead at halftime.
Loyola opened the second half with an 13-3 run for a 17-point lead.
