Photo/Casey McDonald
By: CASEY McDONALD
Editor in Chief
@casey_ace13
Senior Taylor Brooks, fresh off his 1,000 career milestone, scored 22 more as the Titans allowed the game to slip through their fingers in the last six minutes of play against Olivet Nazarene.
The usual starting five of TJ Benner, Matt Bullinger, Jeremy Jones, Rashaan Jackson and Brooks took the court after a rough loss for the Women Titans, hoping to break their two-game losing streak.
Brooks took the tip as Bullinger hit the three to put the Titans in the lead immediately. They would keep that lead until about the 10-minute mark when a three-pointer by the Olivet guard would put them on top by one.
From there it was a battle to see who would be on top at the half as the triple B’s of Benner, Brooks and Bullinger would contribute to the constant fight. Bullinger sank a three with less than two minutes to go to tie for the sixth time the first half, but the Tigers scored a layup to send the two teams to the locker rooms 45-43 Olivet Nazarene.
After the break, the battle ensued as Benner hit a deep three to tie the game at the 14:21 mark. Jackson and Jones also helped contribute a few baskets to push the Titans lead to five.
But with about 6:15 left to go in the contest, the Tigers started to pull away as the Titans defense started to slow down. Jackson would make a pair at the line with about 52 seconds left to put IU South Bend within two, but a foul and turnover by Benner would give Olivet the final say in the game.
The Titans drop their third straight in Bourbonnais 94-88 as their record changes to 2-9 in the conference, 10-11 overall. Along with Brooks’ 22-point game, three other players—Benner, Jones and Jackson—would also end with double-digit point totals.
