Tuesday’s match-up with Davies marked the sixth consecutive Toll Gate basketball game decided by eight points.

Unfortunately for the Titans, the majority of those have ended with the other team ahead on the scoreboard. It happened again against the Patriots.

Despite leading by four at the half and maintaining that lead throughout the first eight minutes of the second half, Toll Gate couldn’t close the deal. Davies’ Rigo Dominicci hit four threes after the break and the Titans went cold from the field in a 51-43 loss. It was Toll Gate’s fourth loss over the current six-game stretch of close games.

The game was important from a playoff standpoint, as Toll Gate fell to 3-9 in Division III, which is 12th place overall. The top 10 teams qualify for the postseason. Davies is 4-7 and remained ahead of the Titans by virtue of the win.

It was the offensive touch that was Toll Gate’s biggest problem. Though it did get 19 points from junior Adam Brice, it missed five of six shots and all three free throws it attempted in the game’s final three minutes.

“We’re young, so it’s up and down,” Toll Gate head coach Tom Rayko said. “Scoring, putting the ball in the basket is definitely a big problematic source for us. When we don’t put it in and we’re trying to play catch up, then we force ourselves into a tougher spot.”

Dominicci led the Patriots with 23 points and he made six three-pointers in the game. He made three of them during the first half of the second half to keep Davies close and then made a fourth to put it ahead 40-37 with 5:36 to play.

“We know he’s a spotty, streaky shooter,” Rayko said. “He could have just as easily missed those. That’s the type of hand he had.”

Toll Gate led 20-16 at the half and it could have been seven had Dominicci not hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer to bring Davies back with in four.

Early in the second half, Dominicci hit a three to make it a one-point game before Brice made two free throws and Jacob Johnson hit a short jumper to up Toll Gate’s lead to five points.

Davies scored on its next trip but the Titans stayed comfortably out in front with a fast-break layup by Zach Bacon and a short jumper by Brice. That put them up 28-21 for their largest lead of the game with 11:58 to play.

The Patriots doubled them up from there, out-scoring the Titans 30-15 the rest of the way.

“We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half that didn’t go down, and then not much went down in the second half at all,” Rayko said.

Davies’ comeback started with a three for Dominicci and one free throw by Jonathan Andrade. Burt Lu helped stem the tide momentarily with a bucket inside for Toll Gate, and Brice made a free throw before Brandon Bernard hit a jumper for Davies. Two possessions later, after Brice hit one free throw again, Dominicci buried a three to pull Davies within two.

The Patriots finally tied the game at the nine-minute mark with a basket by Tarik Rodrigues and they took their first lead at the 7:15 mark when Keron Aird hit a shot from the block, putting them up 37-35.

Toll Gate scored just five points over a five-minute span from the 12-minute mark to the seven-minute mark.

“You’re grinding, you’re playing D so long and not getting rewarded,” Rayko said. “I never thought we stopped playing defense, we just didn’t get rewarded on the other end.”

The teams traded buckets until Toll Gate went back up 41-40 on a jumper by Lu, but Davies got a runner from Aird to go back up by a point and it never trailed again.

Kyle McGuire – who hit three three-pointers in the game – tried one from distance on Toll Gate’s next possession and was off the mark, and Davies got out in transition, where Brandon Bernard hit a three. Toll Gate missed two free throws and a layup attempt on the next possession and Dominicci scored on a fast-break bucket to extend the Patriots’ lead to 47-41.

“Scoring in general for us,” Rayko said. “Foul line, rhythm, in the game. Either or. Tough spot for us right this second.”

The Titans finally scored again with 1:30 to play on a jumper by Johnson, but Andrade immediately scored inside. On the other end, Toll Gate missed the front end of a one and one, and Andrade again scored to put the game out of reach.

It was a tough loss for the Titans, who are struggling to get over the hump against teams in a similar boat as they are. There’s still time, as they have six games left, but they’ll likely need to win at least three of them to qualify for the playoffs.

They’ll have chances, and it starts today, when they host 2-9 Mount St. Charles at 7 p.m. On Monday, they’re at 1-12 Ponaganset before playing Vets on Tuesday and Pilgrim on Wednesday.