The Titans are coming off their first loss of the season to the now no. 2 South Puget Sound. The Titans got wins in their first two games of the Dale Bates Classic, including one against 6^th ranked Spokane. The Titans now head to Walla Walla, WA to play in the WWCC crossover. They play the host Warriors first, then Everett and Tacoma.

Walla Walla Warriors: The Warriors are 5-2 and lost two of their last three. There are no common opponents between the Titans and the Warriors. The Warriors are 1-0 vs the south, vs Mt. Hood.

This is a semi-efficient team offensively who look to win the game from behind the arch. They average 10.9 made threes a game (9^th in the NWAC) and average 34.1 3pt attempts/game (1^st). They shoot 31 percent from three (31^st) 45.6 percent from the floor (18^th). They may not be the best shooting team, but their ball security allows them to compete; they only average 6.3 turnovers/game (1^st). They also do a good job of protecting the rim, averaging 3.7 bpg (5^th) and only give up 73.1 ppg (6^th).

They're led by the NWAC's 2^nd leading scorer, Damen Thacker. Thacker, a 6-1 sophomore guard, averages 24.7 ppg. He also makes 3.4 threes and shoots 32.4 percent; he 3^rd in free throw attempts in the NWAC.

Their second leading scorer and leading rebounder is Jake Albright. Albright, a 6-6 sophomore center, averages 15.4 ppg and 9.7 rpg (6^th), 2.3 apg, 1.3 bpg and .9 spg. He also shoots 69.7 percent from the floor (4^th).

Everett Trojans: The Trojans are 5-5 but have won two of their last three. The Trojans like the three ball, averaging 12.2 made threes/game (2^nd) and they shoot 40 percent (6^th). They move the ball well, averaging 18.9 apg (5^th). They have struggled defensively, allowing 88.3 ppg (31^st) and commit 19.6 fouls per/game (27^th most).

They're led by Markeith Brown Jr., a 6-3 sophomore guard, who averages 23.4 ppg (5^th). He makes 3.5 threes/game and still shoots 40.2 percent. Brown is coming off a career-high 39 vs Clackamas in which he made seven threes and eight free throws.

Down low they're led by Magnus Jespersen, a 6-8 freshman center, who averages 10.5 rpg (4^th), .8 bpg and 10.9 ppg.

Tacoma Titans: Tacoma got throttled by Lane (118-76) when the met in the Dale Bates Classic. After that game Tacoma won their next two and are 3-7.

They've struggled across the board, 71.6 ppg (32^nd), 42.7 percent shooting (27^th), 9 FT made/game (34^th, last), 14.9 FT attempts/game (34^th). They've shot the three well, making 9.6 a game (11^th). They commit 16.7 fouls per game (8^th), a very good number, but they allow opponents to shoot 46.9 percent from the floor (27^th).

Garrett Kingman is their most important offensive player; averaging 16.4 ppg and 9.4 rpg (8^th). He had 16 points against Lane and got to the line 11 times.

Gio Walker was my player to watch against Lane and he only had eight points in 22 minutes, but against SWOCC he had 20 points and 10 rebounds and against Umpqua he had nine points, three rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.

Your Titans:  Lane suffered a tough loss to a SPSCC team that held down the Titans shooting and were able to get to the rim and line at will. The Titans are 7-1 and ranked 3^rd; they're 1-1 vs ranked teams.

The Titans continued to be very good offensively during the Dale Bates Classic. They rank in the top 10 in countless major categories: 114 ppg (1^st), 41.1 FG's made/game (1^st), 74.3 FG attempts/game (2^nd), 14.1 3PT made/game (1^st), 43.5 percent from three (1^st), 17.6 FT/game (4^th), 22.9 FT attempts/game (9^th), 77 percent from the line (3^rd), 23.9 apg (1^st), 12 spg (2^nd), 4.4 bpg (2^nd), 40.7 percent opponents FG% (7^th).

The Titans and NWAC leading scorer is Tarik Cool, who averages 24.9 ppg. Cool makes 3.2 threes a game, shoots 46.4 percent and dishes a team-high 6.4 apg (3^rd).

There are many other important players, but Cody Mathis' inside presence has been huge. He may only average 7.3 rpg and 11.5 ppg, but he only plays 21.8 mpg due to foul trouble. He leads the NWAC in bpg at 2.3. Mathis also shoots 70.4 percent from the floor (2^nd).

A third final key player is Lucas Wilson. Wilson averages 11.7 ppg and 5 rpg as he builds up his mpg which currently sits at 19. He is 2^nd in the NWAC at 7.5 FT/game and shoots them at 82.2 percent. Because of his low minutes, Wilson's 40-minute FT average is 13 made and 15.8 attempts, both best by a wide margin. Wilson also had six and nine rebounds in the final two games of the Dale Bates Classic. He is a man among boys each time on the court and he uses that and a well-rounded game to beat his opponent on and off the ball.

Start times: Friday vs Walla Walla at 8 p.m., Saturday vs Everett at 4 p.m. and Sunday vs Tacoma at noon.