Eugene, Ore. – The Titans got off to another slow start and it again doomed them despite a second half run to make the game competitive in their 91-81 home loss versus No. 4 Clackamas.
How it happened
First half: It took only four seconds for Clackamas to take the first and last lead of the game. Isaac Lange opened the scoring for the Titans 1:45 into the game with a three. Clackamas got their first double-digit, 16-5, lead 4:05 into the game with a layup. Jake Willemsen had a quick response 17 seconds later with a three. Clackamas extended their lead to 13, 23-10, on a three. At the 11:11 mark the lead grew to 15, 28-13, after a Titan turnover gave up and easy layup.
With 7:50 remaining, Clackamas had double the Titans up with an 18-point lead, 36-18. Two more layups gave them their a 22-point lead, 40-18, with 7:02 remaining. The first Titan run came from a Tashon Brown and Rodney Hounshell threes that cut the deficit to 18. Down 21 with less than three minutes to play, Tashon Brown started an 8-3 run to half which reduced the deficit to 15, 52-37.
The Titans shot 35.3 percent (6-17) from three and 9-10 from the line, but 18 combined fouls and turnovers and only a 33.3 percent shooting mark from the field hurt them. Isaac Lange led the Titans with 11 points and added three rebounds, two assists and one block.
Second half: Things did not get off to a good start, allowing an opening minute three. Tashon Brown again started a run with a layup with 15:01 remaining and finished at the 12:58 mark with their deficit now only 11, 62-51.
The Titans would not find the bottom of the basket for the next 3:15 until Rodney Hounshell made a three, but it only reduced the deficit to 13 because Clackamas had scored the previous five points. Jesse Hubbe got the Titans the closest they had been in the half, 70-59, with a jump shot with 8:48 remaining. The problem, the Titans gave up a 12-0 run and did not score for the next 3:40 until Isaac Lange stemmed the drought with a basket with the Titans down 21, 82-61.
The Titans were not done yet, though, a 13-2 run over down to the 2:56 mark made it a 12-point deficit. A quick four-point response by Clackamas put the game away with 2:18 remaining. The Titans did finish the final 1:55 with a 9-3 run but fell 91-81.
Notably in the half was that the Titans had three starters foul out and given that the Titans only have eight available players, they played the last 6:36 without Ty Horner, the last 6:29 with Dylan Reichenberger and the last 3:41 without Jake Willemsen.
The Titans were plus five in the half thanks to 50 percent shooting from three (10-20) and a 35.1 percent shooting mark against. Six more turnovers and fouls, minus eight on the boards and 12 fewer free throws kept the Titans comeback from being a success.
Isaac Lange had 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal and the bench had 16 points combined.
What stood out:
91 points allowed: The Titans are 0-9 when allowing 80 points or more … 24 fouls: 0-5 when committing 20 or more fouls against NWAC opponents … 31 rebounds: 1-4 when recording 31 or fewer … 20 defensive rebounds: 0-5 when recording fewer than 24 defensive rebounds … 16 made threes: most versus an NWAC opponent; 15th double-digit made three game.
Who stood out:
Isaac Lange: Scored a career-high 27 points, one more point than his career-high 26 recorded last game at Umpqua; he also had seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block and a career-high six made threes; this is his third 20-point game, all in his last six games; he broke his career-high for made threes that he tied at Umpqua last game; 12th double figure scoring game, eight in last 10 … Rodney Hounshell: 14 points, four assists, four rebounds and one steal; after scoring in double figures in his first 18 games, he scored eight last game, so he now has double figure points in 19 of 20; this was his fifth game with four or more assists and rebounds each … Tashon Brown: 13 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals; first double figure scoring game since scoring 14 versus Southwestern Oregon on Jan. 15; three steals ties a season-high.
What it means:
The Titans are now in a tie for last place with Clark. They sit 4.5 games out of the final playoff position with only five games remaining.
What's next:
The Titans (11-11, 2-9) travel to Coos Bay, Ore. to face sixth place Southwestern Oregon (9-12, 4-6) on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m.