Titan boys come from behind to defeat Lennox, 71-64

It was a tale of two halves as the Tea Area High School boys’ basketball hosted Lennox this past Friday, Feb. 11.

Lennox started knocking down the three-pointers early and soon the Titans faced a 12 point deficit. Thanks to a quick shot at the buzzer, the Titans cut the lead to ten heading into halftime.

In the second half, however, the Titans came out fighting. Sam Almas and Jonah Kocer hit some key three-pointers for Tea Area as the Titans outscored Lennox 25-9 in the third quarter. The Titans went on to get the 71-64 victory.

“This was another example of the boys overcoming a halftime deficit against a good team. We have not been playing very well in the second quarters of games recently, which we have to find an answer for, but the boys never hung their heads and really dominated on both ends of the court in the second half,” said Titan head coach Drew Weber. “Sam and Jonah knocked down a lot of open shots in the third quarter and our two bigs, Reis and Klayton, were real forces down low.”

Five Titans were in double figures on the night with Reis Kirschenman leading the way with 18 points. Kirschenman went nine of 13 from the field, getting several of his points under the basket. He recorded a double-double on the night, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with his 18 points. He also had one steal in the game.

Almas finished the night with 14 points, hitting four of his seven three point attempts. Almas grabbed two rebounds, had three assists and two steals. Cael Lundin added 13 for the Titans, grabbed seven rebounds, had four assists and three steals on the night. Klayton Sattler found success under the basket as well, hitting five of his six attempts to finish the night with ten points. He also pulled down six rebounds in the win. Kocer finished with ten points in the game, hitting three three-pointers. He grabbed three rebounds and had four assists.

Alex Pies finished the night with five points and three assists. Jeff Worth added one point and three assists.

“We have been searching for the type of game where we get four or five guys in double-figures and tonight we needed that production,” said Weber. “We have a very difficult week coming up, but the boys are playing great basketball.”

The Titans fell to Brandon Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Complete results and photos will be in next week’s paper. The Titans will travel to Yankton on Thursday, Feb. 17. The team will be at Elk Point Jefferson on Friday, Feb. 18 and will host Beresford on Friday, Feb. 25 in the final game of the regular season.