Stony Brook 27, Towson 20
Tigers build 10-point lead at half, squander it
Towson football coach Rob Ambrose says his young team sometimes gives him a few gray hairs. Unfortunately, Saturday night was one of those nights.
The Tigers gave up 244 yards in the second half and blew a 10-point halftime lead before falling to visiting Stony Brook, 27-20, in a Colonial Athletic Association game at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Stacey Bedell rushed for 127 yards on 20 carries to lead the Seawolves (3-2, 2-0). Shane Simpson paced Towson (1-4, 0-3) with 76 yards on 13 carries.
“Our ballgames always seem to be kind of interesting,” Ambrose said. “We just keep trading it back and forth. One day — one day — the home team's going to learn how to win a game.”
The game was a tale of two halves. Towson was dominant in the first — and particularly in the second quarter — while Stony Brook dominated the second.
Stony Brook got on the board first on a long drive in the middle of the first quarter. After the Seawolves took over at their 23-yard line on an interception by Tyrice Beverette, Stony Brook used an 11-play drive capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Bedell to take the lead with 4:22 left in the first quarter. The biggest play of the drive came on a third-and-4 from the Towson 18, when Bedell ran off-tackle for a 15-yard gain to keep the drive alive.
The Tigers wasted little time responding. After a great return, Towson used a six-play, 61-yard drive to tie the score at 7 with 1:20 left in the quarter. Following runs of 23 and 17 yards from Deshaun Wethington, quarterback Ellis Knudson found Andre Dessenberg on a sideline route from 14 yards out for a touchdown.
The Tigers added to their lead just before halftime. Towson forced a punt, and the Tigers strung together an 8-play, 66-yard drive, capped by a pass from Knudson to Tanner Vallely with 1:15 left in the half.
Towson dominated the second quarter, outgaining the Seawolves 145-30 in the quarter.
Stony Brook cut into the lead on its second possession of the second quarter, putting together an eight-play, 91-yard drive. The Seawolves scored on a 12-yard run up the middle from quarterback Joe Carbone to cut the lead to 17-14 with 8:33 left in the third quarter.
The Seawolves took the lead on the second play of the fourth quarter. Jordan Gowins capped a 13-play, 87-yard drive with a 1-yard run to put Stony Brook ahead 20-17 with 14:38 left in the quarter. He had picked up 20 yards on a third-and-4 at the Towson 21 on the previous play.
The Seawolves put the game away when Bedell scored on a 23-yard run down the sideline to make the score 27-17 with 5:50 remaining. The play was set up by interception by Jaheem Woods at the Towson 25.
Towson cut the margin to 27-20 when O'Neill hit a 27-yard field goal with 3:44 left.