Forest Park – the one team that continually stymied the Titan men’s basketball team. For 19 meetings, Gibson Southern could not find the right formula to rout the Rangers. However, Tuesday night at the Titan Fieldhouse, Forest Park finally felt the sting of defeat. Heading into this game, the Rangers were undefeated against the Titans with an all-time series of 19-0. Senior Ethan Spindler was confident in the Titan’s game plan against the Rangers.

“Our game plan was the same as it always is,” Spindler said. “Come out and compete and play our best.”

The team’s plan worked, winning 51-41 and giving them their first win in program history against the Rangers. Rohrer thought the Titans had their highs and lows but was proud of how they finished.

“As in any game, there were some ups and downs with how we played Tuesday night,” he said. “We had a few possessions defensively where we weren’t mentally engaged enough, but ultimately we played many possessions at a high level on the defensive end to hold Forest Park to 41 points. I was really proud of the composure we showed in about the last 12 minutes of the game to finish with a win.”

The Rangers won the tip-off and scored with an opening three-pointer. The Titans came back down the court, being fouled and scored a free throw from junior Maxx Wilson to give the Titans their first points of the game. Wilson was happy with the win but didn’t think the team played to its full potential.

“It wasn’t our best game; we didn’t think we played to our full potential on the court, but overall I was happy we came away with the win”

The next two baskets were scored by senior Isaac O’Neal to put the Titans up 6-4. The Rangers scored a few buckets, but the Titans outscored them coming, ending the first with a score of 10-6. 

The Titans started out the second quarter with a three-pointer from senior Jaxun Lamb. The Rangers came back down the court and also scored a three-pointer to make the game 13-9. After a couple of free throws and a bucket made by Spindler, the Titans maintained the lead with a score of 16-11. The Rangers battled back before going into half to make the score 21-17 with the Titans still in the lead. 

Coming out of the half, the Rangers scored a quick bucket to cut the lead down to two. After a turnover by Gibson Southern, the Rangers had the ball again and scored to tie the game at 21-21.

The Titans and Rangers kept up a series of baskets from both sides, but Gibson Southern eventually took a small lead after a basket from senior Jackson Redding to make the score 28-23. O’Neal scored another basket right before the third quarter ended to make the score 33-25.

In the fourth, Wilson scored a basket to stretch the Titan’s lead to 10. The Titans and Rangers both made several free throws, taking the score to 38-28. The Titans maintained a 12-point lead going into the final two minutes after another basket by O’Neal, with a score of 46-34. When the final buzzer sounded, Gibson Southern made school history, taking down the Rangers 51-41.

“I thought our guard penetration to get easy scoring opportunities for our bigs was huge,” Rohrer said. “Isaac had a 20-point game and most were assisted by great guard passes.  I liked the way we rebounded the basketball as well because Forest Park did not shoot a high percentage from the field, and they also had very few second-chance opportunities.”

The Titans host the North Posey Vikings on Thursday, Feb. 23, to end their regular season.