Fobbs’ 32 points, late 3 lift Tigers

Free throws key in ending 3-game skid

Brian Fobbs scored 11 of his game-high 32 points in overtime — including the game-winning 3-pointer with10.4 seconds remaining — to lift the Towson men’s basketball team to an 80-76 double-overtime win against UMBC before an announced 2,476 at the UMBC Event Center in Catonsville on Tuesday night.

Junior forward Nakye Sanders added13 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers, who ended a three-game losing skid and improved to 3-7.

With the score tied at 76, Towson had possession but knew it would not be able to hold it for the final shot. Fobbs collected the ball from Sanders, used him as a screen, and hoisted his shot from the left elbow for his sixth made 3-pointer in 12 attempts.

“It was just open for me,” said Fobbs, who made all 10 of his free throws and collected seven rebounds. “I didn’t mean to take the last shot. It was just there and I decided to take it. That was just confidence and Coach’s confidence in me and my teammates’ confidence in me, and I was confident in myself. So I just took it.”

Retrievers coach Ryan Odom said the staff emphasized staying with the ball during a timeout before Fobbs’ game-winning shot.

“You’d like to have that shot contested rather than we go under [the screen] and then we’re back,” he said. “And the two guys that were involved in the screen, [graduate student forward] Joe [Sherburne] and [ junior swingman] Arkel [Lamar], knew. They called it right away, ‘My bad.’ But again, that’s the mental part of the game. You’ve got to know what the game plan is and what we’re trying to get accomplished.”

The Retrievers (6-5) had a chance to tie the score again, but Sherburne’s 3-point try bounced off the front rim, and Sanders was fouled while trying to get the defensive rebound with 1.8 seconds left. He missed the first free throw, but made the second to cement the victory.

Towson coach Pat Skerry acknowledged the significance of winning a game for the first time since Nov. 25 against Loyola Maryland.

“Every game is a Super Bowl,” he said. “I think when you’re in one [NCAA tournament]-bid leagues, it’s a good way to approach it. So hopefully when it really matters, you don’t get affected by that. … This one was big for us.”

The Tigers made 23 of 28 free throws, and their prowess at the line was contrasted by UMBC’s troubles. The Retrievers missed 11 of 22 free throws, including eight of 10 in the second half.

“I think it was a big thing,” Odom said. “Once one guy misses, then the next guy gets up there and it becomes a mental thing. We shot them really well at Drexel [11-for-13]. So I’m not sure why we didn’t here. A lot of times, it’s when the free throw is happening. There are a lot of mental errors in that game, and that’s a part of it as well – free throws.”