Wilson Grothe apologized to his coach at halftime.

The Classical Academy sophomore’s usual reliable scoring was absent most of the first half against Sand Creek on Thursday. When his mojo arrived in the second half, the Scorpions needed a fire extinguisher to put out Wilson’s flames.

TCA earned a 61-48 victory over Sand Creek after Grothe lit up the Scorpions for a career-high 26 points, 13 of which came in the third quarter.

“He knows what he’s capable of and he even came and apologized at the end of halftime,” Titans coach Kevin Wenger said. “He said, ‘I’m going to turn it up here.’ He did and he responded really well. It was a slow start for him in the first quarter and that’s uncharacteristic because Wilson has been one of our most consistent players. For him to start how he did was not what we expected and not what we’ve seen all season.

“For him to step up in the second half and respond with mental toughness says a lot about him.”

Grothe finished the first quarter without a bucket and the Titans’ offense struggled to find points. The Scorpions found them in bunches and built a 10-6 lead after the first.

The Titans (7-2) went more than five minutes without a point from the first to the second quarter but knocked down free throws and Damian Gehauf hit a jumper to trim Sand Creek’s lead to 12-11.

Sand Creek (4-11) hit a jumper but Gehauf nailed a 3-pointer to give the Titans a 14-13 lead which they never relinquished.

Grothe found his touch late in the second and scored 8 of the Titans’ 16 points in the period and helped TCA take a 22-16 lead to the break.

“Coach told us that we needed to focus on our defense and our offense would come,” Grothe said. “Get to our spots and shots would start to fall.”

Grothe absorbed that message and relayed it to Sand Creek over the next eight minutes. The Titans outscored the Scorpions 27-7 in the third and Grothe poured in 13 of his 26 in the period. Grothe’s previous career high was 18 which came in the season opener against Village.

Not only did the Titans sophomore outscore the Scorpions by himself in the third, but Grothe nearly matched his career high in just eight minutes.

“My team needed me to step up and I was there,” Grothe said. “I had a bad first quarter and I was throwing turnovers and playing sloppy. Everyone else stepped up and made it easy for me to go out there and do my thing. When I get in a zone like that, I want to swing the ball and not be a ball hog. I lead with my passing and lead with my teammates. If the ball comes to me, I just need to take and hit my shots.”

Bo Franck also notched a career high against the Scorpions and added 20 for the Titans. Seven of Franck’s 20 came in the fourth quarter and helped stave off any Sand Creek comeback.

The Scorpions trailed 51-25 in the fourth but cut the lead to 53-40 late in the contest. Franck then sank a 3-pointer and eliminated any hope of a Sand Creek miracle.

“At the end of the third we had Sand Creek on a scoring drought,” Wenger said. “I encouraged them and said let’s carry that into the fourth quarter and keep this going. Sand Creek is always sound with their pressure and aggressiveness and that always gives us trouble. I’m happy to see how we stepped up and finished this game.”