If ever Todd Beamer boys basketball faced a must-win stretch of games, it was this past week against Auburn schools. Unfortunately, the Titans couldn’t deliver.
First, the Auburn Trojans edged past the Titans, Jan. 20. They took it to the Titans through the first half, leading by 17 going into the break. A second-half fastbreak attack from Beamer presented the Titans with the opportunity to send the game into overtime in the final seconds, but the long shot from captain Stef’fun Singleton went wide, and Auburn walked away with an 82-79 win.
Titan players were visibly upset as they filed into the locker room after the tough loss to the Trojans.
“Our kids don’t give up,” Beamer coach Brent Brilhante said after the loss. “I know they’d fight back. We just weren’t playing well, and the shots were going in (for Auburn).”
Brilhante’s postgame pep talk lasted upwards of 25 minutes before his players began emerging from the locker room.
The Titans (10-9) fought an uphill battle from the start as Auburn started the game on a 9-2 run before Brilhante furiously called timeout. Beamer didn’t find a rhythm, however, and the Trojans grew their lead from seven to 17 by halftime.
“We were out of position a little bit,” Brilhante said. “Guys just weren’t doing their individual jobs defensively, but I took one timeout in the first half. I was saving them, knowing we were going to get back into it.”
Titan junior small forward Richie Frazier took Brilhante’s strategy to heart. With Beamer trailing 46-29 entering the third quarter, Frazier put the team on his back and almost single-handedly overtook Auburn by himself.
Frazier ended the first half with nine points. When the game ended, Frazier finished with 24 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Frazier’s hostile takeover had the Titans down just 62-56 entering the fourth quarter, and he did it all with three fouls.
“He’s got to be great for us if we’re going to be competitive, and he’s been playing great all year,” Brilhante said.
Both teams went back and fourth in the final eight minutes, but it was Beamer with the opportunity to draw the game at 82 with only 2.9 seconds remaining.
The Titans had to span the full length of the floor in order to have a chance, however.
Singleton’s shot went wide left as time expired, and the Titans walked off the floor both angry and exasperated.
“We just missed a ton of shots in that first half we normally make,” Brilhante said. “I think had we done a better job locking down defensively, we would have been OK.”
The Titans recovered, however, Tuesday, with solid scoring output from senior leaders Singleton and Tavian Hall as Beamer cruised past Auburn Riverside 71-69. Singleton led the team with 30 points, while Hall put up 18.
The split against the Auburn programs kept the Titans’ postseason hopes secured going into its final regular season game Friday against Federal Way.
Brilhante said Beamer enjoys the competition it receives every time out against the Ravens and knew the impact the game could have either way on the standings.
For Brilhante, the bottom lines against Auburn and Auburn Riverside were simple. Win, and the Titans would secure a good position going into the district tournament. Lose, however, and they would plummet down the 4A North Puget Sound League standings and have no momentum going into their game against the undefeated Federal Way Eagles.
“No one’s getting first,” Brilhante said. “Federal Way’s already clinched that up. Our goal now is to hold on to that third or fourth spot for that automatic bid to west central.”
