STATE BOUND: Titans head to State after Sweet 16 victory

Tea Area’s offense caught fire in the second quarter and in the second half, the Titans didn’t look back en route to their 27-point victory over fifth seeded Little Wound in Sweet 16 action held Tuesday night in Winner. The 85-58 win sends the Titans to the State A Tournament to be held in Sioux Falls, Mar. 16-18.

“I can’t begin to say how proud I am of this team. We knew Little Wound was going to be a challenge with their height and shooters, but I thought our guys executed the game plan and hit some huge shots to get us the lead in the second quarter,” said Titan head coach Chris Fechner.

The Titans, who trailed 15-11 after one quarter of play, outscored the Mustangs 26-14, in the second quarter to take the 37-29 halftime lead. Tea’s offense continued to roll, outscoring Little Wound 26-17 in the third and 22-12 in the fourth to get the decisive win.

For the Titans, both Freidel brothers scored over 20 points, Noah finished the night with 28 points and Ethan provided 22. N. Freidel also grabbed seven rebounds, had five assists, and four steals. E. Freidel finished with one rebound and five assists.

Also finishing in double figures was Payton Conrad who finished with 12 points on the night. He pulled down three rebounds, had one assist and three steals. Justin Hohn finished with seven points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. Kaleb Joffer had six points, nine rebounds, two assists and one steal. Kade Stearns provided five points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal. Zach Wilber added three points, Evan Munkvold and Seth Kocer one each. Koser also had four rebounds, one assist and one steal.