The Monmouth-Roseville Titans boys basketball team has a quick turnaround on Saturday afternoon, as less than 24 hours after hosting Sherrard at the Shoebox, the Titans would welcome in the rival Macomb Bombers for a non-conference meeting. With Monmouth-Roseville looking for a bounce back win off of two straight losses, it would be all Macomb in this one, as the Bombers came away with a 66-47 win over M-R.
It was a good start early for the visiting Macomb Bombers, as Macomb would take an early 11-5 lead in the first. Senior Ayden Almaguer would give the Titans their first 5 points of the game. A Darrion Smith three pointer would help break up a Bombers run, as Macomb would take a 19-8 lead after the first 8 minutes of play. Andy Myers would bank in a three for the Titans early in the second quarter, however Macomb would respond on a 9-0 run of points to extend their lead to 30-11, forcing Titans head coach Jake Sottos to spend a timeout. Out of the timeout, freshman Lars Bergren would score his first varsity points on a three pointer to end a scoreless run for Mon-Rose. Macomb would get a three in response from Ian Holthaus as the half would come to an end with the Bombers on top with a 35-18 lead.
Darrion Smith and Macomb’s Drew Watson would exchange threes in the first minutes of the third quarter. The waning minutes of the third quarter saw the Bombers double up the Titans up to a 50-25 lead, with Macomb ultimately taking a 29 point lead into the final 8 minutes of play. The final quarter would see the Bombers try to control the ball and hold onto their lead, with Titans junior Ethan Clark scoring 14 in the quarter with 4 three pointers to cut into the Macomb lead as much as possible. Ultimately it would be the Bombers holding onto the road 66-47 win at the Shoebox.
In the stat book for the Titans, Ethan Clark led the way with 14 points all in the third quarter. Also leading in the scoring for the Titans was Darrion Smith with 10, Andy Myers and Ayden Almaguer with 7 a piece, and Lars Bergen added 5. The Titans will return to the Shoebox for TRAC-West action on Tuesday, as they host the Erie-Prophetstown Panthers.
