NCAA News Wire
Towson 69, James Madison 66
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Senior forward Jerrelle Benimon posted his 19th double-double of the season, and a fantastic display of free-throw shooting propelled Towson to a momentous 69-66 win at James Madison on Wednesday night.
Towson (21-9, 12-3 Colonial Athletic Association) tied the team record for single-season wins at the Division I level.
The Tigers posted their fifth consecutive victory — matching their longest winning streak of the season — and improved to 9-1 in their past 10 games. Towson remains second in the CAA standings behind Delaware (21-9, 13-2).
Towson trailed by 10 points on two occasions but each time made a run to get back into the game. The Tigers finally took over late, and a pair of three-point plays by Benimon proved pivotal. The first put Towson ahead 56-54 with 7:49 left, and the Tigers never trailed again.
The Tigers made 30 of 31 foul shots (96.8 percent), while the Dukes made 17 of 26 attempts at the line (65.4 percent).
Benimon, who leads the nation in double-doubles, finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Senior swingman Rafriel Guthrie scored 16 points. The other three Towson starters fouled out after combining for 17 points.
Forward Andrey Semenov led the Dukes (11-18, 6-9) with 22 points in his final home game. Guards Chris Cooke and Andre Nation added 15 and 10 points, respectively, although Nation missed the front end of a crucial double-bonus trip to the line with 3.3 seconds remaining that could have tied the game. He tried to miss the second free throw on purpose, but it went in, and Towson was fouled and made two foul shots at the other end to cement the victory.
