The Monmouth-Roseville Titans boys basketball team got back on the floor last night in the second game of three this week for the Titans. Friday night’s game would see one of the top teams in the Three Rivers Conference come into the Shoebox, as the Sherrard Tigers played visitors. In a tight defensive battle, Sherrard would be the team to pull away late, winning 50-39 over M-R.
The first quarter of action would be a defensive battle between both teams. The Titans would be led in the quarter by senior Ayden Almaguer who poured in all 8 points for Monmouth-Roseville, including a three point play after drawing an and-1 midway through the first. Sherrard was able to match this performance as a team, and the game would be knotted up at 8-8 after the first 8 minutes of play. Monmouth-Roseville would jump right out of the gate in the second quarter, extending their lead to 13-8 after 2 more free throws from Almaguer and a three pointer from Payton Thompson, however the Tigers would respond with an 11-2 run to put the lead to 19-15 in favor of Sherrard. The first half of play would end with Titans seniors Nico Avendano and Darrion Smith as well as Mon-Rose junior Andy Myers trading baskets with the Tigers, as Monmouth-Roseville would take a 25-23 lead into the halftime break.
Out of the halftime break, the Sherrard Tigers would run off 5 straight points to take back the lead, however that mini-run would be answered by Darrion Smith who knocked down a triple to tie the game back up at 28-28. Another run from the Titans including another three from Smith would push Monmouth-Roseville back up to a 37-30 midway in the third quarter. The third quarter of play would with the Tigers going on an 8-0 run to put Sherrard on top 38-37 going into the final 8 minutes of play. The last quarter of play would see the Titans struggle offensively, scoring just 2 points in the final 8 minutes of play as Sherrard would steal the 50-39 win over Monmouth-Roseville.
In the stat book for the Titans, Nico Avendano and Ayden Almaguer both had 12 points to lead the way in scoring while Darrion Smith added in 8. The loss for Monmouth-Roseville drops their overall record to 13-8, and the Titans will look to rebound Saturday afternoon, as they host the Macomb Bombers at 2:30 from the Shoebox.
