Courtesy of LoyolaGreyhounds.com.
BALTIMORE – Dylon Cormier and Robert Olson combined for 34 points, and Loyola University Maryland held Towson University to 32-percent shooting, as the Greyhounds defeated the Tigers, 65-53, in non-conference action on Monday night in Reitz Arena.
Olson hit four first-half 3-pointers and went into the locker room with 12 points, while Cormier scored 12 of his 19 in the second half.
Towson (3-3 overall) scored the first four points of the game, but Olson hit a three from the right corner, and Julius Brooks tallied an offensive rebound and putback 2:31 in, and the Greyhounds were in front for good.
Olson hit another three, this one again from the right side, capping an early 8-0 Greyhounds run.
The Tigers would get within two just twice after that, but an Olson three with 4:10 to go in the first half, and a traditional 3-point play by Eric Laster pushed the advantage to 30-18 with 3:27 before the break.
Loyola (6-1) led by 10, 36-26 at the half after a twisting Cormier layup with 2.1 ticks on the clock, but Towson scored the first four points after the break, and it was 36-30 Greyhounds 1:34 into the second half.
Coming out of a Loyola timeout, Olson caught a Cormier pass, and hit a three, his season-high fifth of the game to push the lead back to nine at 17:30, and just over a minute later, Anthony Winbush rebounded a Cormier miss and put it back for a 41-30 Loyola lead.
Towson got back within single digits at 15:49 on an offensive rebound and jumper by Jerome Hairston, but Cormier scored off a Winbush assist, and the Loyola lead did not duck below 11 for the rest of the game.
In addition to his game-high 19 points, Cormier led all players with eight rebounds and four assists, and he also had two steals without committing a turnover.
Olson scored 15 to go with three assists and five rebounds. Winbush added eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists. Julius Brooks scored eight, and Tyler Hubbard and Franz Rassman each added six off the bench.
“We talked yesterday before practice that this was going to be a neighborhood battle, and it was,” Loyola Head Coach Jimmy Patsos said. “Towson is a much improved team under (Head Coach) Pat Skerry, and they are going to continue to get better. I thought that Robert Olson and Dylon Cormier provided us with that extra lift tonight when we needed a basket.”
Hairston led the Tigers with 13 points. The Greyhounds held Towson’s leading scorer, Jerrelle Benimon, to just seven points after he entered averaging 16.2 per game.
Towson came into the game averaging 11.6 more rebounds than its previous five opponents this season, but the Greyhounds matched them on the boards, 41-41.
Loyola is back in action with a quick turnaround this week. The Greyhounds travel across Baltimore to face Coppin State University on the road Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Leave a Reply