Coming into Friday night’s game against Buckland at the Jerry Carroll Invitational in Fairbanks, Terrence Titus had no idea a historic performance was about to unfold. But it didn’t take long for the Walter Northway School junior to realize how great an impact he could have as a scorer.
“I was just thinking that it was a regular game before that, and then when the game started, they slowed down on defense, so I knew I’d get the ball more,” he said. “I couldn’t miss.”
Not only did he step up but he became the first player in Alaska history to reach the 80-point threshold in a single game. He set the record with 82 points in a 119-109 victory. Titus accounted for 69% of his team’s point total and went 33-of-55 shooting from the field, which included draining a whopping 10 three-pointers.
“Even when they started playing more defense, I was still hitting shots everywhere,” Titus said.
His previous single-game high was 59 points, and he had nearly 40 points by the middle of the second quarter. By halftime, he surpassed 40 points.
To hear his name mentioned in the same breath as the late Kobe Bryant, who is the only NBA player this century to record 80-plus points in a single game, with 81 in 2006, is “crazy” for him to fathom.
As Terrence’s father and his head coach, Jamey Titus was filled with pride watching his son and star player completely take over a game while staying humble and even-keel.
“He’s the kind of kid that just does it,” he said. “He doesn’t brag about it or try to say this and that about it. That’s what I’m most proud of, the way he acts about it.”
His son’s historic total topped the previous record of 74 points scored by Tok’s Skylar Webb in 2009. What makes Titus’ feat even more impressive was the fact that he did it in regulation time. Webb set the previous mark in overtime as his team came up short 83-82 against Whitehorse’s F.H. Collins Secondary of Whitehorse.
[Webb’s 74-point feat warms up frigid Tok]
Titus is the second player in Northway history to find his way onto Alaska’s top-scorer list. He joined former Warrior star Mike Cronk, who scored 62 points in a game in 1986, the same year he earned Alaska Player of the Year honors.
“It’s pretty special,” he said. “I feel even more confident, because me and my team keep improving throughout the year.”
Jamey has been coaching his son since he was a little kid as Terrence started becoming obsessed with basketball.
“He grew up watching Steph Curry, and I think that’s the way he likes to play,” he said. “Steph Curry has his quick shot and that’s pretty wild because that’s all he’s been doing since he was a little tiny kid.”
On the same night Titus made history, Ian Weyanna of James C. Isabell School in Teller also joined the elite by posting 61 points in a 96-42 victory over Aniguiin.