Cyclones drop game to Titans in Curren’s return

Lewis Central Juniors Nash Paulson and Curtis Witte led the way for the Titans at home Tuesday night over the Cyclones to a dominant 51-33 victory.

Cyclone Senior Brad Curren made his season debut after missing the first six games due to a pinky injury.

“It’s great to have him [Curren] back,” said Cyclones Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “Brad had a lot of good looks in his first one back.”

The Titans got off to a fast start with a 9-1 run before Osborn called his first timeout.

“We dug a hole,” Osborn said. “No shots were falling, but defensively we kept playing all night. We have a good team and we just need to bounce back.”

The Titans never took their foot off the gas pedal, leading by eight points at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter got underway with the Titans once again dominating, taking a 9-point lead into the half and limiting Curren and Senior Jacob Birch to just six points.

“We said at halftime that defensively we were fine.” Osborn added. “Offensively, we just weren’t functioning at all. They were more physical than us and they won that battle.”

The third quarter began with a 12-0 Titans run before Osborn called another timeout. The Cyclones added a few more shots, but the Titans led 38-23 at the conclusion of the third quarter.

The Titans defense remained strong in the final quarter, holding Birch to 11 points on the night and Curren with 10. No other Cyclone scored in double digits.

This loss snaps the Cyclones 4-game winning streak and hands them their first loss since Dec. 9.

The Cyclones will have to shake this one off quickly before returning home Friday night to take on the St. Albert Falcons (2-7). The Falcons have lost three in a row, with its most recent loss coming against the Red Oak Tigers, 70-58.

Senior Colin Lillie leads the Falcons with 122 points and 31 assists on the year. He is tied for the most rebounds with teammate Junior Jaxson Lehnen with 40.

“We can put this behind us and move on to the next game,” Osborn added. “We’ve got to be ready to play Friday night. Each game is a battle when you go out there. There’s no nights off.”