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Towson moves to 3-0 with a win over Temple (VIDEO)

Jerrelle Benimon, Nate Lubick

Towson forward Jerrelle Benimon, right, is fouled by Georgetown forward Nate Lubick (34) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

AP

For the first time in more than four decades, the Towson Tigers have started the season 3-0.

The Tigers got 32 points and 10 boards from Jerrelle Benimon and as a team corralled 22 offensive rebounds to knock off Temple 75-69. That comes on the heels of wins over Navy and Morgan State, and while that, in and of itself, isn’t really all that impressive, think about it like this: a couple of seasons ago, we were wondering whether or not the Tigers would actually win a game.

One game.

During the whole season.

And now they are heading into a week where they will be going on trips to Villanova and Kansas with the kind of talent on their roster that makes it far from inconceivable that they can pull off an upset.

Now, to be fair, they are going to need to get more production from their perimeter. Towson beat up a Temple team that has a young and small front line. That won’t happen against bigger programs.

But this win came with Jerome Hairston, a former top 100 recruit, doing almost nothing after picking up a technical foul in the first half and Four McGlynn taking an 0-fer. What happens on the nights when both of those guys get it going?

Towson entered the season as the CAA favorite with the reigning CAA Player of the Year on their roster. But Benimon got better, and his supporting cast did as well.

Until the Tigers pull off a win against the Wildcats or the Jayhawks, it’s best to keep our expectations somewhat in check.

But let it be known now: this is a team you’ll want to keep an eye on throughout the year.

Follow @robdauster