On a night when baskets were hard to come by, the Union boys basketball team made up for it in a variety of ways. First and foremost was the Titans’ stifling 2-3 zone defense, which limited Evergreen to just six made field goals in the first half Friday and held the Plainsmen’s dynamic duo of Dez Daniel and Damarien Walden in check. Union’s eventual 48-30 win was its most lopsided of the young season and snapped a two-game losing skid. “We definitely played with a lot more energy,” Union senior forward Nick Burchett said. “We’re getting a lot better. We can be a great team, but we just have to play well (consistently).”

After opening the season with wins over Graham-Kapowsin and Stadium, the Titans (3-2) came back down to earth with losses to Lake City (Idaho) and Prairie. The latter game on Tuesday, a 65-52 loss, led to a productive couple days of practice and a film session where the team watched every play from the Prairie game. How they performed in Friday’s game was a promising sign of a group that learned from a frustrating loss, according to coach Garold Howe. “The kids not take well to how the outcome of that game was,” Howe said. “We had two outcomes that we could’ve had (tonight) — we could’ve came out here and played the same way, or we could’ve played the way that I felt like we have a good enough basketball team to play. … That was a big stepping stone for us.” “We were playing with a chip on our shoulder after losing to Prairie,” Burchett added. “That was a tough loss, and we knew we needed to have a big win now, especially going on this little stretch of teams that we should beat.”

Burchett scored five straight points in the opening minutes of the third quarter to push Union’s lead to 30-15, and the Titans closed the quarter on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a Kody Holcomb dunk and a Luke Lehner layup to beat the buzzer. It wasn’t the prettiest of offensive performances on either side, as Burchett’s nine points led Union with Holcomb adding eight, Daniel Kirichenko chipping in seven and four players scoring six points apiece. But the Titans gave themselves plenty of second-chance looks by crashing the boards. In the second half, they played with more patience that led to quality looks. “What we realized at Prairie was, when teams press us and put us in situations of pressure, they’re trying to force us to score early and shoot bad shots early in the clock,” Howe said. “What you saw today, I don’t care if we make shots, I care if we’re shooting good ones and our point guards are coming back getting the ball … and we’re actually trying to execute offense. Because if we’re trying to execute offense, our odds of scoring in high-pressure games are going to be better.” Plus, they leaned on a defense that held the Plainsmen (1-2) to 30 points on 11 made field goals after averaging 66 points in their previous two games. Daniel led Evergreen with nine points and Tony Hopson added six.

“It was really strong,” Burchett said. “We did a lot of (scouting), so we knew some of the stuff they did, but it was mainly on energy.” After missing the playoffs for the first time in program history last season, which coincided with a young roster and Howe taking over as head coach, the Titans are hoping that year of development pays off in a big way this winter. While it’s still early, the Titans saw some of that potential on display in Friday’s win. “Last year was tough,” Burchett said, “but it’s a new year and we’re gonna go far.”

UNION 48, EVERGREEN 30 EVERGREEN — London Walker 4, Kai Speer 2, Dez Daniel 9, Damarien Walden 5, Tony Hopson 6, Kigen Windey 0, CJ Johnson 0, Hudson Nellis 3, Darren Schmitt 1, Grayden Tanner 0, Cohen Taylor 0, Daniel Dzyuba 0, Hayden Jensen 0. Totals 11 (1) 4-7 30. UNION — Drew Hill 6, Luke Lehner 6, Pat Howe 6, Henry Dunseth 0, Arthur Novotarskiy 0, Kaden Bozovich 0, Kody Holcomb 8, Rylan Stevison 0, Grant Brown 0, Noah Jones 6, Porter Heitsch 0, Nick Burchett 9, Ethan Manville 0, Daniel Kirichenko 7. Totals 19 (3) 7-14 48. Evergreen  5 10 4 11—30 Union  8 15 16 8—48