Albany, Ore. – The Titians won their final road game of the season thanks to their defense and a balanced, efficient offensive attack with four players in double figures.
How it happened
First half: A pair of Ty Horner free throws 5:38 into the half gave the Titans a three-possession lead, 13-6. Dominic McGarvey reestablished the Titans seven-point lead at the 11:59 mark after converting a free throw. After a small Roadrunner run the Titans lead was two with 6:55 remaining in the half. The Titans responded with a sub-two minute, 7-0 run to reclaim a three-possession lead, 29-20.
Isaac Lange gave the Titans their largest lead of the game at the 3:51 mark, 32-23, after a steal led to a foul and two made free throws. Those were the Titans final two points of the final 4:07 of the half, but they maintained a seven-point halftime lead, 32-25, thanks to their defense.
After a scoreless game on Saturday versus Mt. Hood, Isaac Lange led all scorers with 14 points. 13 Titan turnovers allowed Linn-Benton to attempt eight more shots, but the Titans defense held them to a 28.1 percent shooting mark (9-32).
Second half: In a flurry of scoring in the first 96 seconds, Isaac Lange and Dominic McGarvey each made threes that made it a nine-point game, 38-29. In comparison, the teams combined for 10 points in the first 96 seconds of the half, both teams only scored 10 points in the final 5:07 of the first half. With the Titans lead at 8, the Roadrunners went on a 13-0 run from the 15:00 mark to the 12:16 mark, turning a lead into a five-point deficit for the Titans.
That five-point Roadrunner lead lasted as late as the 8:03 mark and it was not until Tashon Brown made a three with 5:22 remaining that the Titans tied the game. 34 seconds after the Brown three, Rodney Hounshell hit a three to give the Titans the lead for good, 58-55, with 4:53 to go. Hounshell's three was part of a 13-0 Titan run that spanned 3:17. The Titans made 5-6 free throws in the final 1:17 and sealed a 72-61 road win.
The Titans got points from seven players, including a 11 from Rodney Hounshell, nine of which came in the final 4:53 when the game was tied at 55. The Titans used efficiency to score 40 points in the second half; shooting 47.8 percent from the field, 53.8 percent from three and 91.7 percent from the free throw line.
What stood out:
72 points: Fewest points scored in a win; 3-6 when scoring fewer than 80 points … 44.7 percent shooting: Lowest in a conference win, second lowest a win overall (42.1 percent Dec. 17 at Centralia, 74-72 win) … 21 made free throws: Season-high … 9 made threes: Fewest made threes in a conference win; 1-4 when failing to make double-digit threes in conference … 20 turnovers: 3-0 when committing 20 or more.
Who stood out:
Isaac Lange: 20 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal; sixth 20-point game, fifth in the last six … Rodney Hounshell: 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals … Dominic McGarvey: 11 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and an assist; second straight double-double.
What it means: Even though they have been eliminated from the playoffs, the Titans have their first multi-game winning streak since they won four in-a-row from Dec. 28 through Jan. 4. If the Titans win Saturday versus Clark and Mt. Hood loses, the Titans will go from last place, last week, to a fifth-place finish. An important development considering three of their top five scores are freshman (Isaac Lange, Ty Horner and Dominic McGarvey).
What's next: The Titans (14-12, 5-10) host last place Clark (10-17, 3-12) on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.