Towson senior point guard Jason Gibson has missed the Tigers’ past two games with a back issue and is day-to-day ahead of the Hostilo Hoops Community Classic Nov. 25-27, according to head coach Pat Skerry.
Towson is 5-0 for the first time in program history following an 83-67 win against Coppin State Nov. 22. Next on the docket for the Tigers is a trip to Savannah, Ga., to face Fairfield (Nov. 25), South Alabama (Nov. 26) and Mercer (Nov. 27). But it’s unclear whether they’ll have their point guard due to a back injury that cropped up just before tipoff at UNC Greensboro Nov. 17.
“It was a strange thing. We’re about 12 minutes from tipoff at Greensboro and his back locked up on him, like me when I shovel snow,” Skerry said after the Coppin win. “… We expect to have him back, hopefully this weekend. We just want to make sure once he’s back that we know he’s good so we’re not dealing with it. He’s obviously a key piece for us.”
Gibson averaged 8.7 points and 2.3 assists in the first three games of the season. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard has developed into one of the top shooters in the CAA, hitting 42.9 percent of his 3-pointers as a junior last year. The Severna Park native and Sidwell Friends graduate is part of a returning nucleus that gives the Tigers a chance to break their long NCAA Tournament drought.
With Gibson in street clothes, sophomore guard Rahdir Hicks got the start against Coppin and dished out four assists in 25 minutes while nursing a sprained ankle. Do-it-all redshirt senior wing Cam Holden and graduate guard Nicolas Timberlake each took turns directing the offense, posting five assists apiece.
Skerry was impressed that Holden didn’t turn the ball over during the contest.
“He’s done it a lot for us all year,” Skerry said, referring to Holden’s playmaking. “I think today he did a better job taking care of it. I thought our guys did a better job with some spacing and some cutting to help him out. I think sometimes he’s such a good passer that guys just get reliant on, ‘Oh, he’ll make a play,’ versus helping him out. I thought tonight they did a better job of moving. He does deliver the ball.”
Holden, who added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, credited Gibson with helping him prepare to play some point guard.
“Jason is a great leader. He gave me tips on the point guard spot,” Holden said. “I’ve played one through four on this team, so any way to make our lineup work. I’m willing to play the one. I asked Jason a lot of questions. Rahdir was a little banged up, so if he gets a little hurt, he just throws me the ball back and I initiate the offense.”
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