Eugene, Ore. – The Titans fell in another close game, this time at home against Portland, 85-82, courtesy of a buzzer beating three.
First half: The Titans took their first lead, 7-6, off a Tashon Brown assisted, Rodney Hounshell three 3:40 into the half. The Panthers went on a 9-1 after the Hounshell three to make it a 15-8 Portland lead with 13:09 remaining in the half. The Titans did immediately respond with a 9-3 run to cut their deficit to one-point, 18-17, with 10:55 remaining.
Down seven, 28-21, with 8:40 remaining, the Titans went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 30-28. After a tie game at 30, the Titans got five points from Ty Horner and Rodney Hounshell to take their largest lead to that point, 35-30, with 4:22 remaining. Despite the run, the Titans allowed Portland to come back and take the lead with a 9-0 run of their own down to the 2:42 mark, leading 39-35. From the 1:44 mark on, the Titans went on a 9-0 with threes from Jesse Hubbe, Chris Case and then a buzzer beating three by Rodney Hounshell to give the Titans a 44-39 halftime lead.
Rodney Hounshell and Ty Horner each had 14 points and the Titans made eight threes.
Second half: The Titans got their lead as high as eight, 49-41, 1:07 in the half thanks to a Jake Willemsen three. After Portland responded with a three, the Titans got four points from Ty Horner to extend their lead to nine, 53-44, with 2:21 gone in the half. The Titans lead was reduced to three, 55-52, with 14:42 remaining, but Rodney Hounshell and Isaac Lange scored five quick points to push the lead back to eight with 13:37 remaining.
After some back and forth with the Titans lead staying between three and seven points, Tashon Brown returned the lead to seven, 75-68, with 6:07 remaining. After Brown's basket, Portland went on an 11-0 run to the 3:56 mark and took a four-point lead, 79-75. The Titans were able to tie the game at 82 with 1:09 remaining after an Isaac Lange made a three and Jake Willemsen made a free throw. After a defensive stop, the Titans took a timeout. Out of the timeout the Titans isolated Jesse Hubbe and with one second left he missed a three and Portland got the rebound and took a timeout. After a clock review the Panthers made a buzzer beating three to win the game. The play was also reviewed and was confirmed that it was released in time by the officials.
Ty Horner and Rodney Hounshell combined for 18 more points. Overall 34 of the Titans 38 points in the half came from starters.
What stood out:
80 points: The Titans have lost all seven games when allowing 80 points or more … 20: 0-4 when committing 20 or more fouls against NWAC opponents … 37 points: The Titans have lost by an average of 6.1 PPG in the six home losses this season … 5: last five losses have been by single-digits and by an average of 3.6 points … 18.6: average margin of victory in their five NWAC wins vs 8: their average margin of defeat in nine NWAC losses.
Who stood out:
Ty Horner: led all scorers with 24 points and added eight rebounds, one assist and one steal; he's averaging 18.1 PPG in conference play … Rodney Hounshell: scored 22 points and added 14 rebounds, four assists and two steal; ninth 20-point game; his sixth double-double; he's averaging 23.3 PPG in conference play, 3rd in the NWAC.
What it means:
The Titans stay in eighth place, 3.5 games behind Chemeketa for the fourth and final playoff spot.
What's next:
The Titans (11-9, 2-7) travel to co-first place Umpqua (20-2, 8-1) on Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.