Boxscore
File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- Freshman guard Troy Franklin banked in a nine-foot jumper in the lane with just two seconds left to play as Towson overcame an nine-point second half deficit and downed the University of Delaware 62-61 in a Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball battle Monday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Delaware, coming off a big 81-79 win over pre-season CAA favorite Virginia Commonwealth Saturday, led for most of the game until the final minutes and needed a floating layup by Jawan Carter with 14 seconds left to take a 61-60 advantage.

After Towson called its final timeout with 10 seconds left, Franklin took the inbounds pass, drove into the lane, and pulled up for a jumper just inside the foul line that banked in for the victory. A desperation half-court shot by Delaware's Brian Johnson banged off the glass and the front of the rim to end the game.

The Blue Hens (7-8, 1-2 CAA), who had won two straight games and five of their previous six outings, got another balanced effort as Alphonso Dawson led the way with 15 points while Jim Ledsome (at right) added a career-high 14 points and pulled nine rebounds, Marc Egerson contributed 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his eight double-double of the season, and Carter finished with 10 points for his 14th consecutive double-figure outing.

"We made some uncharacteristic mistakes with some turnovers down the stretch," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "I thought we played good defense on that last possession but it was a tough shot and you have to give him (Franklin) credit."

Towson (7-8, 2-1 CAA), which snapped a 12-game CAA road losing streak that dated back to January 20, 2007, also put four scorers in double figures as leading scorer and rebounder Junior Hairston, battling the flu, came off the bench to lead the way with 17 points.

Jarrel Smith added 13 points and seven rebounds while Franklin and Tony Durant added 10 points apiece. Durant came off the bench to add six rebounds.

Delaware took a 30-27 lead at halftime and stayed in front for the first 18 minutes of the second half. Although Towson pulled to within three points several times, Delaware never trailed and pushed the lead to eight points at 54-46 on a jumper by Edwin Santiago with 9:23 remaining.

The Tigers grabbed their first lead since midway through the opening stanza when they went up 57-56 with 2:32 left to play thanks to an 8-0 run. Franklin connected on a deep three-pointer to start the pivotal stretch, Delaware native Josh Thornton, the team's second leading scorer with 11.1 points per game, followed with his only basket of the game on a layup, and Smith converted a jumper and a free throw to highlight the run.

Johnson hit one of two free throws with 1:14 left and Dawson buried a jumper in the lane 13 seconds later as Delaware regained the lead at 59-58. Two free throws by Smith gave Towson the lead again at 60-59 before Carter's driving layup gave UD its last lead at 61-60 with 14 seconds remaining.

The game marked the 60th meeting all-time between the two long-time rivals situated just 60 miles apart. Towson, which still trails the series by a margin of 36-24, won for just the sixth time in 31 trips to Newark.

The first half featured five ties in the opening seven minutes before Delaware took control with a 9-3 run that snapped a 13-13 deadlock and put the Hens up 22-16. Egerson hit a three-pointer during the stretch and Ledsome ended the run with a thunderous dunk.

Towson cut the lead Delaware lead three times the rest of the half but could never gain the lead as another dunk by Ledsome with 55 seconds left sent Delaware into halftime up 30-27.