Caleb Gottry attends Chandler Preparatory Academy and is a member of the AIA’s Student SID program.

The Chandler Prep Titans hosted the Spartans from Leading Edge Academy and suffered a heartbreaking one-point loss on Tuesday, January 21st, their first regional loss this season. The Titans managed to keep the lead for the majority of the first quarter, although neither team led by more than five points throughout the entire first half. Entering the second half with a two-point lead, LEA stretched that lead with several fast breaks and a few Titan turnovers. Chandler Prep never regained the lead, but made it close and scored the final points of Tuesday’s game, coming up short by one, with a final score of 53-52. Head Coach Wilson thought his team could have fought harder and said this:

“I thought our aggression was lacking and I thought [LEA] played very tough. We need to step up our toughness. We have a solid and talented team, but we need to find more toughness.”

Juniors Joey Pupillo and Andrew Hahn led the Titans in scoring with 14 points and 13 points respectively. Overall, the Titans handled the ball well in the hands of point guards, junior Josh Capel and sophomore Noah Rasmussen, but struggled to gather in loose balls on both ends of the court. The Spartans strength and ferocity on the boards made it difficult for Chandler Prep, but they did manage to bring down over 25 rebounds as a team. Junior Josh Capel commented on the Titans' teamwork on the court and said this:

“I think that at the beginning it was a bit rougher and we didn’t pick each other up as much, but towards the end, we started playing harder and more competitive. We really started looking for each other on every play, telling each other what to do and how to get back and stuff. So just the progression throughout the game: it slowly got better, but it’s still something we can be more consistent with.”

With less than a minute remaining and the Titans down by six, the Spartans missed two free throws, and senior Christian LeClaire drove for a two-point basket and an and-one. With less than 20 seconds left, the Titans were forced to foul again and the Spartans drained one of two, extending their lead to four. In the final seconds, Hahn swished a three-point shot, but failed to draw a foul to give them a chance to tie.

The Titans host the Phoenix Christian Cougars on Friday, January 24th at 7:30pm. Titan Up.