A month ago Olympus wasn't even a blip on the Region 6 radar, and a losing season seemed like an inevitability sitting at 3-7 overall and 1-2 in league play.
That mediocrity is a thing of the past. In front of a raucous Oly student section Tuesday night, the Titans won their seventh straight completing an improbable surge to the front of the Region 6 pack with a convincing 78-56 victory over league-leading Granger.
"For us it's been a grind, and it's been a battle. We could've easily cashed it in a month and a half ago," said Olympus coach Matt Barnes. "We're still four games away from completing this region, but we're hoping we can find a way to win the region championship and hopefully get a decent seed for the state tournament."
As of now, Olympus and Granger are deadlocked at 8-2 in region play, with Murray only a game behind at 7-3.
"We have a great tradition here, a lot of region championships if you look up at the banners and we definitely want to have one up there for us," said Olympus' Elliott Bullock, who led the way with a game-high 21 points.
The 6-foot-10 senior scored 10 of his points in the first quarter as the Titans exploited their drastic height advantage in racing to a 22-10 first quarter lead. When these teams met last month Olympus wasn't patient enough in getting the ball in the post according to Barnes, and Granger capitalized by winning an ugly game.
Pounding it inside served two purposes — setting the tone, but getting Granger in early foul trouble. Midway through the third quarter two of Granger's biggest players, Alex Thompson and TJ Tapusoa, were both sitting on the bench with three fouls.
Tapusoa eventually fouled, but not before knocking down a pair of critical 3-pointers early in the third quarter. Down 10 at the half, Granger closed to within 37-35 in a matter of minutes thanks to Tapusoa's two 3s and a pair of three-point plays from Mani Tapusoa.
"They're 8-1 for a reason, they're good, so we knew they had a run in them," said Barnes.
Olympus responded in a big way, closing the quarter on a 19-8 run thanks to a pair of treys by Joe Bourne and another by Preston Fairbourn. In the fourth the Titans pulled away despite only making 11-of-22 free throws.
Fairbourn, Bourne and Will Watkins all scored in double figures for the Titans, but Bullock's early dominance was the difference.
"Elliott's been tremendous during this run, defensively more than offensively, but tonight he got the ball where he needed it," said Barnes. "He's kind of been carrying us through the winning streak."
In the loss, Ray Tapusoa led Granger with 20 points.