TOWSON, Md. – Maine had several chances to pull even with Towson in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s pivotal Colonial Athletic Association matchup.

The Black Bears, however, lost a fumble on Towson’s 2-yard line, could not take advantage of some generous field position and then a costly penalty gave the Tigers everything they needed to escape with a 24-19 victory. Maine fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference heading into Saturday’s game against visiting New Hampshire.

Tigers quarterback Grant Enders had eight carries for 98 yards and a touchdown, while running back Terrance West finished with 96 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. Towson racked up 508 yards of offense, compared to 302 for Maine.

Maine quarterback Marcus Wasilewski completed 24 of 37 passes for 159 yards and ran for a touchdown.

Towson (3-3, 2-1), which is ranked 19th in the FCS coaches’ poll, snapped a five-game losing streak against Maine last season with a 40-30 victory, paving the way for the CAA championship. The Tigers used much of the same formula to win their second consecutive game over Maine.

Maine was playing its first game without defensive end Michael Cole, who tore a quadriceps tendon in his left leg last week against Delaware and underwent season-ending surgery Wednesday. Despite the injury, he was named CAA defensive player of the week after finishing with five sacks and nine tackles.

Towson increased its lead to 17-10 on a 38-yard field goal by D.J. Soven with 4:27 left in the third quarter. Soven made just one of four attempts on the night, missing from 47, 40 an 37 yards.

Maine marched down the field on the next possession and had a first-and-goal from the two yard line, but the Tigers would not budge. Running back David Hood then fumbled on third down and the Tigers recovered.

After forcing a three-and-out, Maine managed a 28-yard field goal by Sean Decloux and pulled within four. Maine’s defense came up big again on the next possession, forcing  Towson to punt from its own 21. However, a roughing the kicker penalty by Sean Stevenson gave the Tigers a first down.

Seven plays later, Towson quarterback Grant Enders ran 51 yards for a touchdown and a 24-13 lead. Wasilewski’s 4-yard touchdown run pulled the Black Bears to within 24-19 after his pass for a two-point conversion sailed through the end zone.

The Tigers opened the scoring with 5:11 left in the first quarter on a 10-play, 77-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard run by Terrance West — his eight of the season. The Black Bears cut the score to 7-3 almost four minutes later on a 33-yard field goal by  Decloux.

However, it was the Black Bears’ defense that changed the tone of the game early in the second quarter when Troy Eastman jumped on a pass from Grant Enders and ran 92 yards for a touchdown.

Eastman ran through several Tigers, who flailed trying to at least push him out of bounds.
However, it was Maine’s second-longest interception return for a touchdown this season. Kendall James returned one for 100 yards Sept. 15 against Bryant.

The Tigers then regained the lead, 14-10, with 1:22 remaining in the half when Grant Enders found Erron Banks in the middle of the end zone for a 18-yard touchdown. Towson outgained Maine, 339-132, in the first half and the Black Bears were 0-4 on third down conversions. The Tigers also had possession almost twice as long as Maine, 19:29 to 10:31.