Warwick Vets eventually made its run.

Thanks to some clutch performances from the Toll Gate side, it was too little too late.

While the Hurricanes scored nine straight points late in the game and out-scored the Titans in the second half, it was a crucial stretch early in the second that helped the Titans survive. Toll Gate leading scorer Jordan Paolissi went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 13-minute mark, with the Titans up by 16. Instead of letting the lead slip, the Titans stretched it all the way to 22 and made that cushion last for a 69-58 victory. It was the second straight win for the Titans.

“When Jordan went down, the rest of the kids came up big,” said Toll Gate coach Tom Rayko. “They played great, and they advanced the lead even more.”

The Titans built a 13-point lead in the first half, thanks in large part to their defense. Using two different presses – one of which paved the way for Tuesday’s win over Pilgrim – the Titans forced the ’Canes into a host of first-half turnovers.

Against Pilgrim, the Titans didn’t press until the second half. Friday against Vets, they dove right in.

“We got the transition game going right away,” Rayko said. “That’s what I was looking for. We wanted to get out ahead instead of falling behind.”

The ’Canes were still in the game, even when the lead got to 16. When Paolissi got called for a charge and went to the bench with four fouls, it looked like the ’Canes might have a window. At the time, Paolissi had 17 of Toll Gate’s 41 points.

But the rest of the Titans picked up the slack in a big way. After a runner by Vets’ Alex Iadevaia made it a 14-point game, the Titans went on a 9-2 run, with Dustin Slocum doing all the damage. The senior power forward scored inside with 11:50 left, hit two free throws on Toll Gate’s next possession, scored again 45 seconds later and capped the run in style when he made a tough basket, got fouled and hit the free throw. Nine points, all in the span of less than two minutes. Slocum finished with a game-high 23 points.

“Dustin played great,” Rayko said.

After that surge, Slocum only scored two more points, but the rest of the Titans took their cue from him. Chris Pettigrew and Dylan Cummiskey scored to stretch the lead to 19. Keenan Sgroi pushed it to 22 when he drove through traffic, hit a circus shot, got fouled and hit the free throw.

“Dustin, Pettigrew, Keenan – those guys really did a good job when Jordan was out,” Rayko said.

Sgroi’s three-point play came with 6:04 left, and it looked like the Titans would be able to coast from there. The lead was still at 22 with 2:33 left.

But the ’Canes didn’t stop. Mark Pereira hit a three for Vets with 2:22 left. After Alex Carr answered with a bucket for Toll Gate, the ’Canes put together a 9-0 run. They played at a frenetic pace, forced four turnovers and capitalized on them. Adderly Lopez and Cory Muto each had four points in the run.

The problem for the ’Canes was that the run started with 1:29 left. There wasn’t nearly enough time to complete the comeback.

“We need to find that urgency button,” said Vets head coach Chris LeBlanc. “We can’t seem to locate it until it’s too late. I’ve been trying to figure out all year which buttons to push. When we made that run, I’m like, ‘Alright. What was it? You tell me. What spurred you guys on so much?’”

Lopez led Vets with 14 points, Muto scored 13 and Iadevaia tallied 12. The ’Canes dropped to 0-12 in league play.

“We’ve got to find that intensity,” LeBlanc said. “That’s the bottom line.”

For Toll Gate, the victory capped a big week. The Titans are sitting at 5-7 in league play and they’ve put themselves back into the playoff chase. Along with three other teams, they’re just two games out of fourth place.

“This was a great week,” Rayko said. “Rivalry week, and it was really nice to come away with two wins. We had a really rough week the week before so it was great to come back like this. Hopefully we can keep building off it.”