Story by Prairie Communications Intern, Kadin Rogers.
Fresh off a runner up finish in the Orion Tip-Off Classic tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Monmouth-Roseville Titans boys varsity basketball squad opened up home regular season play with a non-conference match up with the Mercer County Golden Eagles. The game was extra important for the Titans as MerCo was the team that beat them in the Orion tournament championship game. M-R would use this motivation to propel themselves to a 43-42 win over the Golden Eagles.
The game started off in Mercer County favor, as they took an early 6-0 lead. After the Titans tied the game 13-13 in the 2nd, the game went back and fourth to the very end. Late in the fourth quarter, Golden Eagles guard Noah Relander put Mercer County on top 42-41 with a layup with under 10 seconds to play. On the Titans final offensive possession, C.J. Johnson took a long pass from Silas Braun to the rim, missed the ensuing layup, but drew a foul to send himself to the line. Johnson would sink both clutch shots and hold on to the 43-42 home win.
M-R gets to 4-1 with the win, and will get back on the court on Friday at Farmington High School for non-conference game against the Farmers. For the full replay of tonight’s WMOI broadcast, click HERE
