Loyola (Md.) 65, Towson 53
Dylon Cormier had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Robert Olson added 15 points as host Loyola (Maryland) beat local foe Towson 65-53 Monday in a non-conference game at Reitz Arena in Baltimore.
Jerome Hairston had 13 points for Towson (3-3), which was aiming for its first 4-2 start since the 1999-2000 season. The Tigers, 1-31 last season, were playing their first game in a week. They trailed 36-26 at halftime and 60-46 with 3:53 left in the game.
Loyola (6-1) was coming off an overtime win against Rhode Island. The Greyhounds' only loss this season was to the University of Washington.
Towson's Jerrell Benimon, a reigning Colonial Athletic Association Co-Player of the Week, had just seven points. The Tigers finished with just four assists on 17 field goals.
The Tigers missed nine of their first 10 3-point shots, and they turned the ball over 15 times. The Greyhounds committed just seven turnovers.
Cormier entered the game with an average of 16.8 points per contest. Loyola's Tyler Hubbard, the current MAAC Rookie the Week, had six points.
It was the sixth straight game away from home to begin the season for Towson, but the Tigers had to travel just a few miles south to face Loyola.
Loyola, under former Maryland assistant Jimmy Patsos, appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Greyhounds play Wednesday at Coppin State, another Baltimore school.
NOTES: Monday's game was the 71st between the schools, the most of any opponent for Towson ... Towson scored 69 points in its previous four games after not scoring that many points in any of its games last season ... Towson also has road games at UMBC (on Saturday), Vermont, Georgetown and Temple before its first home game in suburban Baltimore on Dec. 15 against North Dakota State.
