Towson's Pat Skerry was one happy man Friday night in at least one regard.
The first-year coach of the Tigers wasn't pleased that his team fell to 0-13 on the season with a 57-50 loss to No. 23 Virginia, but Skerry had a smile on his face when pointing out that this was Towson's final non-conference game.
''I am 100 percent glad that our non-conference schedule is over,'' said Skerry. ''The one we inherited.''
Towson's pre-Colonial Athletic Association schedule included three ranked teams, including Kansas and Michigan in addition to Virginia, as well as Oregon State, Vermont and Massachusetts.
''You'd have to be pretty sadistic (to put a young team through this schedule),'' said Skerry, who started two freshmen and two sophomores against a veteran Virginia lineup.
In spite of their inexperience, the Tigers managed to take the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena out of it early by jumping to a 10-2 lead and kept battling all the way until the final minute.
This was also Towson's 32nd straight loss dating to last season.
''I told the guys, there are no moral victories,'' said Skerry. ''We lost. But I told them I got no problem with us going 0-32 if we defend like that. The reality is, we won't go 0-32 if we defend like that every night.''
Behind freshman point guard Kris Walden (15 points) and sophomore forward Marcus Damas (13), the Tigers trailed 24-16 at halftime and 30-21 early in the second half before coming back and making it a four-point game with less than a minute to go.
''This can obviously help our confidence,'' said Walden. ''Obviously, we struggled early on in the season, and our coaching staff has done a great job of making us play harder, from the way we practice to how we're eating. Everything across the board.
''Playing them close and tough, of course, it hurts even more than losing by 20 or 30, because it was within arm's reach. But it definitely shows us what we're capable of, so when we go into conference play, it should give us a little competitive edge over those teams.''
With the Tigers trailing by four, Walden missed back-to-back 3-point attempts before Virginia freshman Malcolm Brogdon nailed a 3 to give the Cavaliers a 52-45 lead with 46 seconds left. The Cavaliers made five of six free throws down the stretch to ice it.
''If you guard well, and you don't turn the ball over a lot (Towson had 13 turnovers), you are going to have chances to win basketball games,'' said Skerry.
