Towson State
Tiger Tracks
Published exclusively for Tiger Club members
by the News and Publications Services
Tuesday, January 20, 1976
JANUARY TOUGH ON OUR TIGERS
If it was up to Towson basketball coach Vince Angotti, the new year would begin in
February and everyone should try and forget January ever existed. Just to fill you in,
back on Jan. 3 the Tigers were 7-2 and off to one of their better starts in recent memory.
There was talk of a 20-win season and a Mason-Dixon championship (now that troublesome
Randolph-Macon has left the conference), feats sure to be accomplished by this young
bunch of basketballers in black and gold. Since that time, however, our Tigers have dropped
three of four and have fallen to 8-5 on the season and 1-2 in the conference.
Perhaps the turning point for the Tigers came back on the 6th of this month, a game
with Wheeling College that marked the return of Dicky Kelly and Paul Baker to the
Baltimore area. Kelly, the player, and Baker, the coach, put on equal displays of fire and
ice as the Cardinals topped Towson, 90-86 before more than 1,000 patrons in Burdick Gym.
This contest marked the beginning of what is now known as the "foul line blues" at Towson,
or in other words, the inability to hit from the free throw line. The Tigers, despite
blowing a comfortable 10-point edge at one point, actually outplayed Wheeling from the
floor but could not hit from the charity stripe— where the Cardinals were practically
flawless! Pat McKinley hit for 25 points in that game to push his career total here at
Towson over the 1,000 point level, and the junior from City College also pulled down
13 rebounds to lead Towson in both catagories in the Wheeling scuffle. But the free-
throw touch of Rod Gaddy and the hot hand of Dunbar alum Dicky Kelly iced the win
for the Cardinals in the games' final moments. It was a bitter pill for Towson to swallow,
but it went down a bit easier knowing that Wheeling was 11-2 going into the game and is
one of the top teams in the tough West Virginia Conference.
Our Tigers rebounded from the loss in grand fashion, and the poor victim of Towson's
revenge was little St. Mary's College on the Eastern Shore. Towson hit for their highest
point total of this season and last in demolishing St. Mary's, 109-73. Bobby Washington
topped the Tigers with 23 points and McKinley garnered 13 rebounds to pace the rout.
In that game Towson attempted an amazing 90 field goals, hitting on 53 of them, both
high for the 1975-76 campaign. Other bests for the season picked up in the St. Mary's
contest wsrecthe number of team assists (23) and free throw percentage (3 for 3).
Towson returned to Mason-Dixon play on Jan. 10 at the University of Baltimore,
and the Bees avenged an eariler loss at the National Boh tournament by edging the Tigers,
60-57. It was Towson's lowest offensive production since last year's 62-51 B.U. victory over
Towson and the least number of points the Tigers have totalled this season. For some
reason Towson has trouble scoring points against the Bees, scoring only 53 and 51 in a
pair Of losses a year ago, although we managed to score 77 to win the Metro semi-final.
Washington again led all Tiger scorers with 14 points, and the sophomore from Prince
Georges County also topped his teammates in rebounds for the evening with 11. Ray 4
Tannahill also played well for Towson, dishing out three assists to lead Towson in that
department for the game. The win kept B.U. unbeaten in Mason-Dixon play, and the Bees
are leading the loop with an unblemished 4-0 record.
Towson's most recent battle took place at ancient Evergreen on the campus of
Loyola College, a tough place for a visiting club to post a victory. The Greyhounds, labeled
before the game as having less talent and the obvious underdog with a 3-6 record, out¬
played Towson on hustle and desire and came away with a 65-57 upset over the visitors
from up on Charles Street. The Tigers led by six during one stretch in the opening half,
but trailed by three at halftime to a deliberate Loyola offense and tenacious defense.
Trailing throughout much of the second half, Towson managed to knot the score at 50-50
on a three-point play by Francis Clay, but the Greyhounds outscored their guests 15-7
the rest of the way to ice the win. Mark Rhode, Bud Campbell, and Morris Cannon
played especially well for Loyola* and 6-7 Jim Smith had the best rebounding effort of
his career with 17 caroms. Brian "Gumby" Matthews took Towson scoring honors with
16 points and Washington had nine rebounds. Mike Jeffers handed out six assists and
continues to lead the Tigers in that area. Towson dropped to 1-2 in league play with
the loss to Loyola, while the Greyhounds are now 2-2 in the loop. Loyola also de¬
feated Randolph-Macon in a non-conference game last Saturday night to improve their
overall mark to 5-6 going into last night's game at Johns Hopkins. Loyola must play
Catholic U. (Wednesday) in conference play this week, then get a breather with St.
Mary's Saturday.
Our Tigers, meanwhile, stick with the Mason-Dixon for four more games, the first
coming Wednesday night here at Towson against the Retrievers of UMBC at 8 p.m.
The visitors are 0-3 in league play this season and 2-8 overall, mainly due to an inexperienced
lineup that includes freshmen and sophomores and not a single senior! The Tigers then
travel to Catholic U. Saturday night (8 pm) and Salisbury State Tuesday night (also at 8)
before returning home Thursday the 29th to play Loyola College again. If Towson is
to make any headway toward winning a Mason-Dixon crown, these next four games are
crucial ones in that effort. A rematch with B.U. is coming up on Feb. 7, and it would
help Towson's chances greatly to have a 6-2 league record rather than 1-7 going into
that critical battle. _
