Thornton’s 23 points, Nwankwo’s dunk help Towson beat UMBC 82-77 despite 28 points by Grant

Nwankwo’s dunk helps Towson edge UMBC 82-77

TOWSON, Md. — Josh Thornton scored 23 points and made seven 3-pointers as Towson defeated Maryland-Baltimore County 82-77 on Wednesday night.

The Tigers (2-3) led by as many as 15 points, and by 12 with 9:44 left, but didn’t seal the win until Robert Nwankwo’s dunk with 2 seconds left after Tony Franklin’s steal from Chris De La Rosa. Nwankwo finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

A layup by Shawn Grant pulled the Retrievers (0-6) within 79-77 with 16 seconds left before Franklin made it 80-77 with a free throw at 0:14. Grant, a freshman guard, came off the bench to lead UMBC with 28 points, including 17 in the second half. He made 10 of his 14 shots.

Thornton had 17 points for Towson in the first half, including two on consecutive possessions that gave the Tigers a 10-3 lead at the 16:09 mark. Another of Thornton’s 3-pointers gave Towson its 15-point lead, 39-24, at the 7:02 mark.