Titans outlast Chargers in early season basketball battle

Going into the Carl Albert Festival, the Chargers expected a tough scrappy battle in both games. And sure enough, they met a tough Carl Albert team in the final game of the tournament. Already playing up a class due to the OSSAA's "success rule," Heritage Hall played up another division to play 5A powerhouse Carl Albert. So the Chargers went into the contest already being the underdog.

The Hall took that out of their head and started the game strong, setting the tone by tying the game with a three by senior point guard Ethan Franks early in the first. They continued to compete throughout the first quarter, ending it tied 12-12 after an incredible three-quarter court shot from junior guard Kyle McLaughlin at the buzzer.

Carl Albert came into the second quarter aggressively and started to gain a lead on the Chargers. Midway through the second, the Titans held a five-point lead, but Heritage Hall fought back and brought it within two, trailing 22-20 at the half.

The Chargers needed to match the Titans' aggression in the second half if they had any chance of scoring the win. Junior guard Sebastian Perry motivated the team to bring out the hustle. The Chargers were diving for every loose ball, boxing out hard, staying on their feet on defense, and taking charges to the chest. However, that aggression faded and the Titans were able to make a run and end the quarter with a 36-28 lead.

Heritage Hall knew going into the fourth they were going to need to do something different to stop this powerful offense. However, the confident Titans went on a run 8-2 to open the last quarter – and carried that momentum to a 57-41 victory over the Chargers.

The Chargers were paced offensively by Kyle McLaughlin who posted a team-high 11 points and 8 rebounds, including that crazy three-quarter court shot. Ethan Franks kept the ball moving on offense with 5 assists, and also took a big-body charge. Senior post Adam Buckler scored 9 points, snagged 2 rebounds, and swatted a vicious block. Sebastian Perry had an off day by his standards, but still put up 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Sophomore defensive stopper Austin Lemon chipped in 6 points and 3 rebounds.

Written by Duke Brim '24

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