Gritty Titans hold off Warriors

The Erwin Warriors used 26 fouls to see to it that their game against the McDowell Titans was played 45 feet at a time.

It was a reasonable strategy, but it didn’t work.

McDowell (8-1 Mountain Athletic 4A/3A Conference, 14-6 overall) avenged its only league loss – and secured at least a share of the split conference’s regular-season 4A championship – with a 73-63 victory over the Warriors Friday.

The Titans, as has been their modus operandi this season, put four players in double figures and made some big plays to pull away down the stretch against Erwin (4-5, 9-9), which played without leading scorer Ira Waters, who was suspended.

“We have really changed since before Christmas,” said Titans head coach Brian Franklin. “We just didn’t know how to close. We made a lot of mistakes and didn’t play smart down the stretch, and we have come so far in that regard.”

Dalanta Rodriguez led the way for McDowell, scoring a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go with five assists and four rebounds. Point guard Ethan Freeman (6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) added 16 points, and post Josh Pyatt (2 blocks) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Cedarius Avery (3 steals) added 12 points.

All four, along with Jared Helms (2 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks) came up big in the fourth quarter when the Titans turned the game in their favor.

McDowell led by just three at 56-53 midway through the final period, but Avery’s layup off a Rodriguez assist stretched the lead to 58-53 with 3:20 to go.

Erwin’s Jackson Watkins missed a pair of free throws on the other end, and Freeman scored off a Rodriguez assist in transition to make it 60-53 with 2:56 to play.

It was the largest lead for McDowell to that point, and the Titans used the cushion to hold off the Warriors the rest of the way.

Erwin got back within 62-57 on a follow shot by DeAngelo Collington (13 points, 11 rebounds) at the 1:57 mark.

But Avery answered 27 seconds later with a 3-pointer out of the corner off a Freeman assist to make it 65-57, and the Warriors got no closer than six after that.

Erwin didn’t shoot the ball well (33 percent), but kept the game tight thanks to some hard work on the offensive glass. The Warriors held a 20-15 edge in offensive rebounds, and scored off many of their second chances.

Avery Page led Erwin with 17 points and Jonathan Allen added 15.

“I thought the effort was great the whole time, but it was great on both sides, so it wasn’t one of those you’re going to win on effort alone,” said Franklin. “To play against Erwin, it’s tough. They’re well-coached and they’ve got a fantastic team. They don’t give you anything easy.

“After losing at Erwin, to come back and get a win against them at home, that’s big for us. I was really happy with their effort and how they were focused.”

Erwin led 12-10 after one quarter and the game was tied at 28-28 at the half. McDowell led by as many as five in the third quarter before settling for a 49-47 advantage after three quarters.

The Titans host Asheville High Tuesday (4 p.m. start—jayvee girls). A win in that game or a T.C. Roberson loss against Erwin Tuesday would give McDowell the conference 4A title outright for the second time in its three years in the league.

Erwin (63) Jackson Watkins 4-9 0-2 8, Jonathan Allen 5-16 4-4 15, Avery Page 6-16 1-2 17, Bryant Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Bryson Shelton 0-4 0-0 0, DeAngelo Collington 4-9 5-8 13, Colt Austin 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Tigar 3-5 0-0 6, V. Calderon 0-1 1-2 1, Tyler Sullins 0-4 1-2 1, Cody Conner 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 23-69 12-20 63.

McDowell (73) Cedarius Avery 4-10 3-4 12, Jared Helms 1-4 0-2 2, Josh Pyatt 4-11 6-8 14, Dalanta Rodriguez 9-14 1-2 21, Ethan Freeman 4-10 8-10 16, Matt Carroll 0-1 2-5 2, Daniel Jackson 1-1 2-2 4, Johnny Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Blake Speros 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 24-54 22-33 73.

Erwin                  12   16   19   16 – 63

McDowell           10   18   21   24 – 73

Rebounds: Erwin (35) McDowell (36) Rebound leaders: Erwin (Collington 11) McDowell (Pyatt 10) 3-point goals: Erwin (5-20) McDowell (3-9) Erwin (Watkins, Shelton, Tigar 0-1, Allen 1-6, Page 4-11) McDowell (Rodriguez 2-3, Avery 1-2, Pyatt 0-4) McDowell assist leaders: (Freeman 6, Rodriguez 5) McDowell steals leaders: (Avery 3) McDowell blocked shot leaders: (Helms, Pyatt 2) Turnovers: Erwin (14) McDowell (16) Fouled out: McDowell (Avery 1:21—fourth)