Gibson Southern opened Sectional 32 on Tuesday night, matching up against Evansville Bosse, a team with a 17-6 record and that forgot its jerseys at school on game day. Players and coaches knew this would be a tough game. Despite an early lead for the Titans, Bosse took the win, 61-44.

The Titans drew first blood with a basket by senior Mitchell Spindler. This was the momentum the team needed to set the tone for the game. Bosse answered back with two consecutive baskets, but senior Aidan Neel hit a three, followed by sophomore Carson Brindle’s three-point and two-point buckets. The Titans took a surprising 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, as Jason White of the Gibson Southern Titans Broadcast Team tweeted, “Gibson Southern 15, Bosse 9, End 1st, #Sectional32, #NotATypo.”

“We came out stronger than ever,” senior guard Aidan Neel said. “We just simply couldn’t miss a shot in the whole first quarter.”

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Senior Adam May

To maximize on the potential to win this game, Gibson Southern had a game plan that was different from the rest of the season. The Titans came out and held the ball and made the Bulldogs come out and guard them, which opened up the court for the Titans.

The Gibson Southern limited Bosse’s big scorers in the first quarter, too.

The second quarter was a different story, and the Bulldogs took over. They full court pressed the Titans. This was a problem for Gibson Southern’s plan to slow the game down.

The Titans turned the ball over a couple too many times and gave up the lead. After the first half and a rough second quarter, Gibson Southern headed to the locker room down 25-20.

With their hopes high after the first half of game play, the Titans came out in the second half ready to take back the lead. But, as soon as the whistle blew for the game to resume, Gibson Southern was not the same team as it was in the first half. They did not show the same energy on the defensive end, and they were failing to hit the shots that they were hitting in the first half.

The Bulldogs ran away with the score, going up by 20 points within minutes.

“We weren’t comfortable with their defense,” head coach Kyle Runyan said. “We turned the ball over way too much and didn’t get many good shots in the second half.”

The fourth quarter was a little more even between the two teams, but Bosse secured its win in the third quarter.

The Sectional loss marked the end of four seniors’ high school basketball careers. Aidan Neel, Adam May, Mitch Spindler and Ethan Reinbrecht all graduate in May. The memories made and shared the past four years are some they will never forget.

“I’m really going to miss the guys and the coaches; you get very close with everyone, being with them all the time,” Reinbrecht said.

The Titans finished the season with an overall record of 8-15 and 5th in the PAC with a 4-4 record.