Towson State University
Tiger Tracks
Published exclusively for Tiger Club members
by the News and Publications Services
TIGERS TRIP BEES, APPROACH 20-WIN MARK
February 7, 1977
Before the largest crowd ever to see a basketball game at Towson State our men's
varsity squad edged the University of Baltimore, 68-65, for their 17th win of the season
Saturday night at the Towson Center. Before an overflow throng of more than 5,000 the
Tigers won a record-setting 15th straight game and at the same time increased the Mason-
Dixon Conference lead to one full game. The Bees, meanwhile, fell to 17-3, with all
three losses at the hands of Towson. Towson leads the M-D pack with a 5-0 mark, and BU
is second at 5-2. Mount St. Mary's is third with a 4-2 record after a two-point win at
Loyola. Our win over Baltimore may also have moved us into the second slot in the NCAA
Division II rankings, especially since last week's number two squad, Wisconsin Green Bay,
suffered their second loss of the season Saturday night.
Saturday's game was a reversal of the script that has seen BU trailing at halftime,
only to rally to make the game close at the end. The Bees took a 36-32 halftime edge
over the Tigers and at times threatened to break the game open in the second half. But
the Tigers kept plugging away on the strength of Brian Matthews' 18 points and superb
work from Rod Norris. Coming off the bench midway in the second stanza, Norris hit on
2 of 3 field goals, sank 2-for-2 at the free throw line, picked up a pair of rebounds,
handed out three assists, made one steal, and played air-tight defense on the Bees'
berald Watson. Roger Dickens had 16 points and Pat McKinley added 14 for the Tigers,
who hit one less field goal than BU but hit 12 of 15 free throws as compared to 7 of
15 for the Bees.
In other action over the past few weeks Towson swamped Salisbury State, 114-70, and
defeated Point Park, 86-70. Our game with Mount St. Mary's in Emmittsburg on January 28
was postponed and will be made up on February 21, while the game with Wheeling on Febru¬
ary 3 was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. In upcoming games, the Tigers host
Frostburg State Tuesday night, then travel to Loyola College Thursday night before re¬
turning to the Towson Center Saturday night with U.M.B.C. and next Tuesday with the Mount
Unless some surprises develop over the next two weeks the Tigers should reach that magic
20-victory plateau here at the Towson Center, and we hope a lot of people are here to be
a part of that milestone in Towson basketball history.
WOMEN'S VARSITY FALLS TO RUTGERS
Our women's varsity basketball team dropped their sixth straight game, a 74-53 de¬
cision at Rutgers Saturday, lowering the season record to 3-7. Denise Houck paced the
Tigers with 23 points, but it wasn't enough to handle the talented New Jersey squad.
After winning two of three in the Towson Invitational the Tigers stood at 3-1 and hopes
were high for a winning season. But the Tigers fell to William Paterson (86-65), Sal¬
isbury State (75-59), Howard University (69-62), and Pittsburgh (73-48) before moving
into last week's action. Tuesday, Towson traveled to Glassboro State and lost 60-53
before last Saturday's clash at Rutgers.
Coach Rita Yerkes is hoping the team can rebound in the first half of Tuesday night'
basketball doubleheader at the Towson Center. At 6 p.m. the women's squad will face
U.M.B.C., followed by the men's varsity game with Frostburg at 8 p.m. Thursday night at
6:30 the Tigers travel to the University of Delaware, and then host Federal City (who
they lost to by three points earlier) next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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