“Tough Love” sparks Titans’ comeback

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Desperate times call for desperate measures, and coaches must sometimes change more than simple ‘Xs’ and ‘O’s’ to light a fire under their team.

Pioneer‘s Joey Mata was faced with that situation during halftime on Saturday night in the third-place game of the St. Anthony tournament. Known for ‘keeping his cool’ at all times, Mata got so upset that he walked out on his players -- something he’d never done before in his seven years as Titans’ coach.

‘I screamed and yelled for a minute and told them they had to start playing like champions,’ Mata said after a lackluster 16 minutes in which his team was outscored, 41-25. ‘Then I just left the locker room. Normally, I’m calm and my assistant [Ron Saldana] is the one to use tough love but this time it was me.’

Mata’s players seemed to get the message -- especially junior Michael Crosby, who finished with a career-high 46 points, 29 rebounds and five steals as Pioneer rallied from a 21-point deficit early in the third quarter to outlast Anaheim, 99-88, in double overtime.

Crosby, a 6’ 3’, 230-pound forward who also plays tight end and defensive line on the Titans’ football team, scored 11 points in overtime, including a three-point play at the end of the first extra period. Crosby tipped in a rebound, was fouled, and made the ensuing free throw to tie the score with no time on the clock. Pioneer (5-9) took control from there, outscoring the Colonists, 15-4, in the second overtime.

-- Steve Galluzzo, guest blogger