Gophers Fade After Strong Start Against D-I Towson

TOWSON, Md. — After falling behind 12-0 in its first encounter with a Division I opponent this season, Goucher got off to a much better start against Towson tonight.

Chris Outing (New Windsor, N.Y./James I. O'Neill) scored the first basket of the game in the opening minute, and back-to-back layups from Outing and Ibraham Kallon (Silver Spring, Md./Wheaton) gave the Gophers a 10-9 advantage with 15:08 remaining, forcing an early timeout from the host Tigers.

Towson, though, would eventually take advantage of the size disparity between the two squads, using a 65-29 edge on the glass to help send Goucher to a 97-43 defeat.

Chris Outing led the Gophers (0-5) with 12 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the floor before fouling out midway through the second half. Troy DeShields (Seaford, Del./Sussex Technical) added eight points and a pair of blocks off the bench.

With Goucher trailing 14-10, DeShields had an emphatic block on Towson's Byron Hawkins, and the junior forward sank two free throws on the ensuing possession to move the Gophers within two.

After that, however, the Tigers (5-1) went on a 14-0 run to open up a comfortable 28-12 cushion, and they would gradually expand that lead for the remainder of the night.

Towson led 45-25 heading into the intermission, and the Tigers opened up the second half on a 22-5 spurt to put the game out of reach. Three Towson players finished with double-digit rebounds, including a game-high 15 from John Davis. He also had six of the Tigers' 22 offensive rebounds, matching Goucher's team total for the night.

Kallon finished with seven points for the Gophers, while Alex Noble (Clinton, Md./Surrattsville) chipped in six points and a team-high six rebounds.

Goucher was limited to 27 percent shooting from the field, while Towson hit 45.7 percent of its shots, including 13 of 27 attempts from 3-point range.

Tonight marked the first ever meeting between the two local schools. It was also the second matchup against a Division I opponent for the Gophers in 2014-15 after they opened the season with a road loss at Howard.

Goucher returns to the Decker Sports & Recreation Center on Sunday for a 4 p.m. matchup against Lynchburg.