By RYAN D. MURRAY The Titans were edged out by the Johnston Panthers 52-48 on Tuesday night during the boys Division II basketball season-opener in a packed Toll Gate gymnasium.

Toll Gate was topped by Alex Usher, a senior, who contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds, junior Jackson Cehelsky (8 points), senior Shawn Nolette (7 points), and Syriis Price (four points, 11 rebounds).

“Alex is a beast on the inside, Syriis is a beast on the inside,” Titans head coach Tom Rayko said. “They both did a great job on the boards.”

“Really, in the first half, we just couldn’t buy a bucket from the outside,” Rayko said. “They collapsed into the paint and took away our paint presence, which was a smart idea for them.”

Johnston was led by Hunter Remington, a senior, who scored 16 points, and juniors Anthony Corsinetti, a transfer from Bishop Hendricken (15 points), and Derek Salvatore, (eight points).

The Titans jumped out to an early 4-0 lead when Usher scored with a put back before stealing the ball and driving down the lane and finishing with an emphatic slam dunk.

Johnston cut that deficit in half when Ryan Schino made a baseline jump shot.

Next, the Panthers drew an 8-6 lead when Corsinetti drilled back-to-back 3-point baskets.

But then, Toll Gate went on a 10-5 spurt and led 16-13 after one quarter.

Remington started the second quarter with three straight 3-point baskets and then Jayden Testa, a sophomore, added one of his own. After that, Neari Vasquez added a free throw and that gave the Panthers a 26-18 advantage.

The Panthers contained that margin up until halftime and headed into the break with a 30-22 cushion.

Remington opened the third frame with a driving layup and that gave the Panthers its first double-digit buffer at 32-22.

Toll Gate cut the deficit to 37-34 midway through the third frame when Cehelsky buried a corner 3.

However, Salvatore and Corsinetti each answered with a layup and Johnston led 43-36 after three quarters.

Nonetheless, Cehelsky started the final frame by burying a 3-pointer, and then a jumper, before his teammate Syriis Price, added a layup, and evened the score at 43.

The teams went back-and-forth after that and were knotted again at 47 with just three minutes to play.

Price put Toll Gate up one, with two minutes left, but a minute later, Remington responded with a runner and that put the Panthers on top for good at 49-48.

The Panthers extended their margin to 51-48 when Salvatore, who was fouled by Cehelsky after an inbound pass, made two free throws with 20.1 seconds left.

Cehelsky missed a 3-point attempt after that and with 5.8 seconds to play Corsinetti sealed the deal with a free throw, which put the game out of reach at 52-48.

“The second half was much better,” Rayko said. “We started hitting shots from the outside. It kind of opened things up for us. We switched our defense from our 2-3, to man, they kept switching back-and-forth because they couldn’t figure out our second half. And then, just a tough foul there at the end. That was a tough foul there at the end to reset the shot-clock, which basically shut-off the shot-clock because there was only 20 seconds left to go in the game, and then we just ran out of time.”

Toll Gate falls to 0-1 with the loss and plays next at Lincoln (1-0) on Friday at 7pm.