The Monmouth-Roseville Titans boys basketball team officially began postseason play on Monday night at the Shoebox of Monmouth-Roseville High School. The Titans took on the Alleman Pioneers in the quarterfinals of the class 2A Monmouth-Roseville regional. It was a defensive start to the game, as both teams struggled to score early in the first quarter. Payton Thompson took the lid off the scoring on a nice take to the basket, while Ayden Almaguer added on to the early score with a strong layup. Gavin Aubrey got Alleman on the board before Ayden Almaguer, Cee Sarcomo, and Jake Steele all scored to push the lead to 11-2 with under 2 minutes to go in the 1st. Alleman’s Jack Wendt knocked down a 3 to break up the Titans run, however Jake Steele would knock down a buzzer beating layup to put Monmouth-Roseville on top 13-5 after one full quarter of play.
Payton Thompson opened the second quarter the same way he opened the first quarter with a jumper to get the Titans started. Ayden Almaguer pushed the Titans lead up to over double digits with a strong take to the basket. Alleman junior DJ Baker got on the scoring sheet with back to back scores to cut the Titans lead to 17-9. After Nico Avendano added on 4 straight points for M-R, Alleman’s Jack Wendt knocked down a 3 to keep the Pioneers within single digits at 21-14, and to end the first half, Ayden Almaguer and Gavin Aubrey traded free throws before Almaguer knocked down a three to end the half, and send the Titans to the break with a 27-16 lead. Nico Avendano would come out strong out of the break for the Titans with a fadeaway and a putback to extend the lead to 15 points. A spinning take by Almaguer and a layup from Darrion Smith helped the Titans push their run to 8-2 in the open of the half. A no look find by Avendano to Smith combined with another layup from Avendano helped push the Titans to a 40-26 lead with one quarter of regulation to play.
A 24 point fourth quarter would be the capper on a nice win for Monmouth-Roseville. After 5 straight points from Alleman, Avendano tipped one in while Andy Myers knocked down a three to put M-R back up 14 points. 2 Gavin Aubrey 3s kept the Pioneers in the ball game in the middle of the quarter, but late points from Payton Thompson (including a three pointer), Nico Avendano, and Darrion Smith lifted the Titans to a 64-45 win to advance on to Wednesday’s regional semifinal round. In the stat book for the Titans, Nico Avendano led the way with 20 points while Ayden Almaguer and Payton Thompson both poured in 15. Monmouth-Roseville now sets their sights on Wednesday night at the Shoebox, as they will take on the top seed in the Canton sub-sectional, the Rockridge Rockets at 6:00 in class 2A semifinal action.
