The Monmouth-Roseville Titans basketball team returned to action on Friday night for some Three Rivers Conference West Division play on the road in Port Byron taking on the Riverdale Rams. Looking to rebound off a Wednesday night loss to state ranked West Hancock, the Titans would put up another good first half but faltered down the stretch in a sixth straight win for Riverdale.
After a solid opening for the Rams, an early Payton Thompson 5 point run would put the Titans up 5-4 early in the first. An Andrew Way floater and Ethan Clark three ball doubled up the Rams halfway through the opening quarter, with a Rams and one under the basket the lead back down to three. Near the end of the first however it would Ethan Clark knocking down his second triple of the game, putting the Titans up 17-12 after one. Keeping the Titans momentum, Nick Huston would put in a tough put-back off the glass out of a Riverdale timeout to keep the Titans up 21-16. Another three ball buried by Ethan Clark put Monmouth-Roseville up 24-18 midway through the second to force another Rams timeout, while Payton Thompson’s put back and Andrew Way’s reverse layup kept the Titans on pace with a 6 point lead. Wrapping up the first half Ethan Clark’s late five points held the Titans to a lead, but a Paxton Kidoo three for Riverdale sent the game to a 32-29 tight contest after the first half.
Out of the halftime break, Nick Huston’s under the basket spin shot put the Titans up 35-31, however this would be the last time the Titans found themselves in front, as a Riverdale 7 point run put the Rams up 38-35. After an Andy Myers 3 pointer to tie, Riverdale would put together another 7 point run to go up 45-38 and force a Titans timeout. The Rams would keep their momentum going into the 4th Q. Ultimately Pushing their lead to 17 late in the final quarter. Senior Payton Thompson would put up 7 points in the quarter, but it would still be all Rams as Riverdale would pull away with a 71-54 home win over Monmouth-Roseville. The Rams would score 42 points in the second half to cap off their 6th win of the season.
The loss for Monmouth-Roseville drops their overall record to 2-4, as they will look to rebound next week with back to back home games on Monday and Tuesday, against Knoxville and Canton.
For the replay of the WMOI radio broadcast of the game, go to the SPORTS PODCAST section.
