by Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports

A year ago, Towson was the laughingstock of college basketball.

On Saturday, the Tigers made history.

With a 67-64 victory over Hofstra, Towson (18-13) improved 17.5 games over last year’s 1-31 finish to eclipse the plus-17 record held by Mercer (2002-03) and UTEP (2003-04).

The Tigers ended their season on a winning note, but it ended nonetheless. Despite improving to 13-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association, Towson is ineligible for the postseason because of NCAA Academic Progress Rate standards.

Towson relied on its youth for much of the season. On Saturday, Jerome Hairston and Marcus Damas scored 17 points each to pace the winning effort. Jerrelle Benimon had 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 20th double-double this season. His two free throws tied the game 55-55 with 3:52 left, and two by Rafriel Guthrie made it 57-55. Benimon’s three-point play stretched the lead to 62-55 with 1:08 remaining.

… [For more on Towson completes largest one-year turnaround in NCAA hoops history, click here.]