THE TOWERLIGHT - Baltimore Student Media

MEN’S BASKETBALL
NOTES
TU knocks
down 11
3-pointers
in victory
Raboin scores first
points since home
opener, provides
push off bench
After taking a beating from the
3-point range against George Mason,
the Tigers caught fire from deep
against William & Mary Saturday
afternoon. Led by sophomore Josh
Thornton, Towson hit 48 percent
of their 3-point attempts, scoring
33 of their 64 points from beyond
the arc. Thornton hit four of his
seven shots from 3-point range, while
Junior Hairston and Jon Pease each
hit three shots from deep. Coming off
the bench, junior Tim Crossin hit one
of his two shots.
They also successfully shutdown
the Tribe, one of the best 3-point
shooting teams in the CAA, in the
second half, limiting William & Mary
to just two of 13 after they hit five of
10 before the break.
“One of the main points coach [Pat
Kennedy] went over in the locker
room was that he wanted us to contest
all shots and to play tight defense
on our man while getting out to them
on the perimeter,” Thornton said.
Raboin comes to life
Towson head coach Pat Kennedy’s
first recruit when he came to Towson
was forward Sean Raboin. Now a
enior, Raboin has been buried in the
ront court’s depth chart for most of
he season, but Saturday afternoon,
e served as the Tigers’ emotional
parkplug. He was taken down hard
y William & Mary’s John Sexton and
onverted both free throws following
flagrant foul. On the following posession
Raboin drew an offensive
oul in the post and scored an easy
ay in the on the next possession.
e finished with seven points, his
irst since the season-opener against
oyola.
Hairston records
double-double
Forward Junior Hairston recorded
his first double-double in 12 games
against the Tribe. The junior transfer
from the College of Charleston
has tallied double-digit points and
rebounds in eight games this season,
but Saturday’s 21 and 11 performance
was the first since he scored
22 points and pulled 11 rebounds
against George Mason in Fairfax,
Va. on Jan. 5. Hairston now averages
nearly 10 rebounds per game, ranking
third in the CAA.
-- Kiel McLaughlin
TRIBE: Williams
tallies nine assists
From page 32
sports
were doing. There were no second
thoughts. We shot the ball with
confidence tonight.”
Sophomore transfer Josh
Thornton led Towson’s 3-point barrage,
knocking down four baskets
from beyond the arc, many of them
with several William & Mary players
leaping in his face.
The 6-foot-1 shooting guard who
transferred to
Towson last season
from Georgetown
fearlessly fired up
shots from long
range out of both
the half-court
offense and on the
wing in transition.
With just over four
minutes remaining
in the second
half, he knocked
down two consecutive
attempts, including one from
the top of the key after shaking
the Tribe’s David Schneider with a
quick crossover.
“We try to take what the defense
gives us and coach always makes
sure to tell us to go inside before we
go outside,” Thornton said. “There
is no way that’s better but as a
player, you always want to be able
to do more than one thing and
scoring from different places on
the court is part of being the best
“We We knew what wha we were
doing. Ther There were no
second thoughts. thou We
shot the ball with
confidence tonight.
player you can be.”
His fever from deep proved infectious
as both senior John Pease and
Hairston joined their teammate in
lighting up William & Mary from
deep. Pease, who has shot 37 percent
this season from beyond the
arc, knocked down three of six.
Hairston, the Tigers’ leading scorer
entering the game averaging 12.2
points per contest, hit a seasonhigh
four 3-point baskets Saturday.
With just over
a minute remain-
Junior Hairston
Tigers’ forward
ing, point guard
C.C. Williams
melted the clock
near half court.
With five secondsremaining
on the shot
clock, Hairston
set a pick at the
top of the key
and rolled toward
the 3-point line.
Williams found the 6-foot-7-inch
forward who sank the uncontested
jumper to put Towson up 15 with a
minute remaining.
Despite not hitting any shots
from the field, Williams dealt nine
assists while only coughing up possession
twice. He scored only two
points on free throws, missing his
lone field goal attempt.
The Tigers go on the road
Wednesday to face the Hofstra
Pride in Hampstead, N.Y.
Louis Jay/The Towerlight
Towson senior forward Sean Raboin battles in the post against
the William & Mary Tribe Saturday at the Towson Center.
Athlete of the Week
Josh
Thornton
Men’s
Basketball
Sophomore shooting guard Josh Thornton
knocked down four of his seven 3-point attempts
Saturday at the Towson Center against
the William & Mary Tribe. He fi nished with 14
points, two assists and four rebounds.
The Towerlight February 18, 2008
31