Tigers build 10-point lead at half, squander it

Towson football coach Rob Ambrose says his young team sometimes gives him a few gray hairs. Unfortunately, Saturday night was one of those nights.

The Tigers gave up 244 yards in the second half and blew a 10-point halftime lead before falling to visiting Stony Brook, 27-20, in a Colonial Athletic Association game at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

Stacey Bedell rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries to lead the Seawolves (3-2, 2-0). Shane Simpson paced Towson (1-4, 0-3) with 76 yards on 13 carries.

“Our ballgames always seem to be kind of interesting,” Ambrose said. “We just keep trading it back and forth. One day — one day — the home team’s going to learn how to win a game.”

The game was a tale of two halves. Towson was dominant in the first — and particularly in the second quarter — while Stony Brook dominated the second.

“We got outcoached. That’s on me,” Ambrose said. “They put some formations out there that we weren’t ready for, that we didn’t adjust well to, and they kept us off balance — that’s good coaching by them.”

Stony Brook got on the board first on a long drive in the middle of the first quarter. After the Seawolves took over at their 23-yard line on an interception by Tyrice Beverette, Stony Brook used an 11-play drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Bedell to take the lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter. The biggest play of the drive came on a third-and-4 from the Towson 18, when Bedell ran off-tackle for a 15-yard gain to keep the drive alive.

The Tigers wasted little time responding. After a great return, Towson used a six-play, 61-yard drive to tie the score at 7 with 1:20 left in the quarter. Following runs of 23 and 17 yards from Deshaun Wethington, quarterback Ellis Knudson found Andre Dessenberg on a sideline route from 14 yards out for a touchdown.

The teams traded possessions before Towson put together a scoring drive early in the third quarter to take the lead. The drive was highlighted by a 36-yard pass to Radio: Christian Summers followed on the next play by a 24-yard reception by Sam Gallahan.

But the drive stalled at the Towson 6, and the Tigers settled for a 23-yard field goal by Aidan O’Neill to take a 10-7 lead with 7:32 left in the half.

The Tigers added to their lead just before halftime. Towson forced a punt, and the Tigers strung together an 8-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a pass from Knudson to Tanner Vallely with 1:15 left in the half.

Towson dominated the second quarter, outgaining the Seawolves 145-30 in the quarter.

Stony Brook cut into the lead on its second possession of the second quarter, putting together an eight-play, 91-yard drive. The Seawolves scored on a 12-yard run up the middle from quarterback Joe Carbone to cut the lead to 17-14 with 8:33 left in the third quarter.

The Seawolves took the lead on the second play of the fourth quarter. Jordan Gowins capped a 13-play, 87-yard drive with a 1-yard run to put Stony Brook ahead 20-17 with 14:38 left in the quarter. He had picked up 20 yards on a third-and-4 at the Towson 21 on the previous play.

The Seawolves put the game away when Bedell scored on a 23-yard run down the sideline to make the score 27-17 with 5:50 remaining. The play was set up by interception by Jaheem Woods at the Towson 25.

Towson cut the margin to 27-20 when O’Neill hit a 27-yard field goal with 3:44 left. Stony Brook Towson FIRST QUARTER SBK: Bedell 3 run (Popek kick), 4:22. TWN: Dessenberg 14 pass from Knudson (O’Neill kick), 1:20. SECOND QUARTER TWN: FG O’Neill 23, 7:32. TWN: Vallely 2 pass from Knudson (O’Neill kick), 1:15. THIRD QUARTER SBK: Carbone 12 run (Popek kick), 8:33. FOURTH QUARTER SBK: Gowins 1 run (kick failed), 14:38. SBK: Bedell 23 run (Popek kick), 5:50. TWN: FG O’Neill 27, 3:44. TEAM STATS 7 7 0 10 7 0 13 3 — — 27 20 First downs 20 18 Rushes-yards 41-205 32-156 Passing 165 250 Comp-att-int 15-23-0 20-33-2 Return yards 65 130 Punts-avg. 6-39.2 3-44.0 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0 Penalty-yards 3-15 3-25 Time of poss 30:01 29:59 RUSHING: Stony Brook, S. Bedell 20-125, J.Gowins 12-62, J.Carbone 7-22, D.Liotine 1-(minus 2). Towson, S.Simpson 13-76, D.Wethington 13-67, E.Knudson 4-13, G.Boyce 1-2. PASSING: Stony Brook, J. Carbone 15-23-0-165. Towson, E. Knudson 20-332-250. RECEIVING: Stony Brook, R. Bolden 5-82, S. Alston Jr. 4-33, A. Trent 2-19, T. Keith 2-18, S. Marino 1-8, J. Wingate 1-5. Towson, C. Summers 3-98, A. Dessenberg 7-70, S. Gallahan 7-66, R. Harris 1-9, D. Wethington 1-5, T. Vallely 1-2