Towson men’s basketball coach Pat Skerry says veterans Cam Holden and Nicolas Timberlake “have at times caused some exasperation over the last month,” but he added that the Tigers have “a chance to become a very good team” provided those two lead the right way.
That was certainly the case on Jan. 16, when the Tigers defeated Hofstra, 68-47, to improve to 12-7 overall and 4-2 in the CAA. Towson was behind 13-3 at the first media timeout, a spurt that was similar to one against the College of Charleston on New Year’s Eve, when the Tigers fell behind 11-0 to start the game en route to an overtime loss.
Towson outscored Hofstra, 27-7, for the rest of the first half and 38-27 in the second half. Top veterans Holden and Timberlake combined for 30 points to lead the way for the Tigers. The team kicked into gear after that first media timeout.
“Skerry got after us in the huddle, just checking our manhood as he usually does,” Timberlake said. “We know what we’re capable of this season, and we stepped it up and that was the result.”
Skerry downplayed the impact of anything he said during that timeout.
“I didn’t do anything. [Holden and Timberlake] owned it,” Skerry said. “If they don’t own it, then we’re not going to be very good. Today, they owned it. It’s not going to be about coaching, the game plan, all that stuff. When those two guys are locked in and decide to lead and lead the right way, we have a chance to become a very good team like we hope to. If we deviate from that, then we can be beat by anybody.”
The 2022-23 season has been more of a grind than expected for a group picked to win the CAA. First, senior point guard Jason Gibson suffered a back injury that has lingered for two months. Then, there was the five-game losing streak fueled by turnovers.
The Tigers have won four of five since then, but Skerry has still been left wanting more from his veteran leaders. Holden didn’t play against Drexel (Jan. 5), Stony Brook (Jan. 7) and Delaware (Jan. 11) due to a violation of team rules. Both have also had some issues with turnovers; Holden leads the CAA with 65, and Timberlake has committed four or more turnovers four times this year.
“They’re really talented. They’re really good kids. They’re from good families,” Skerry said of Holden and Timberlake. “I love them as people and when they’re eventually gone I’m going to miss them. They have at times caused some exasperation over the last month. They’re very competitive. They’ve got to lead us the right way. When they do that, we can be a difficult team to beat.”
Still, both are having solid years. Timberlake ranks among the CAA leaders in minutes (35.8), points (15.7) and free-throw percentage (84.8). Holden ranks among the conference leaders in minutes (35.3), points (14.4), rebounds (6.4), assists (4.6) and steals (2.1).
Against Hofstra, Timberlake posted 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and scored 10 consecutive second-half points for Towson to turn a 44-30 lead into a 54-31 advantage. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound graduate guard was comfortable not forcing shots in the first half and waiting for his chance to strike, especially since the Tigers have two emerging contributors in Ryan Conway and Christian May.
“I know there’s times I get pretty frustrated if I’m missing a couple shots, but just getting older, I’ve realized that I’m going to be playing most of the game,” Timberlake said. “I’m going to get more shots eventually. Just finding the hot hand in the first half was kind of the idea for me.”
Holden came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down seven boards. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound redshirt senior wing was also comfortable not forcing anything.
“I feel like we all just take stress off each other,” Holden said. “Not everybody’s going to have a good game, but we all can do something that can help the players like Nic who are having a good game — screen for him, get him open, get his rebounds, just help each other out in a certain way when the ball’s not going in for you.”
Towson has a road trip to North Carolina A&T (Jan. 19) and Elon (Jan. 21) looming, then the Tigers close out the month at home against Northeastern (Jan. 26) and William & Mary (Jan. 28).
It’s all about improving throughout the course of the season and playing at a high level by the time the CAA tournament rolls around in early March. Holden is confident his team is on the right track.
“I feel like we had the rhythm last year kind of early and it kind of snuck up and caught us at the end,” Holden said. “I’m glad that we’re … figuring out things right now. Hopefully in March we can make something special happen here.”
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy/PressBox