West Michigan duo starting in backcourt for Indiana Tech
Indiana Tech’s Brady Titus, left, and Max Perez discuss a play during the season opener on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Max Perez and Brady Titus were still wiping the sleep out of their eyes when their Indiana Tech basketball team went through an early-morning practice on Saturday.
The Warriors were getting ready to host the annual four-team WHAC/CL Challenge to open the basketball season.
The Grand Rapids natives are going to play a bigger role for Indiana Tech this season. Perez said its nice to have a backcourt partner that he’s familiar with.
“It’s very cool,” Perez said. “I grew up knowing Brady, even though he’s a few years younger than me. We played against each other a few times. Now that we’re starting together - and we’re both from Grand Rapids - it’s pretty cool.”
Perez, a 5-foot-11 guard from Hudsonville High School, is in his fourth year at Indiana Tech. Titus, a 5-foot-10 guard from Wyoming Tri-Unity High School, enters his second season.
Max Perez, a native of Hudsonville, Mich., enters his fourth season at Indiana Tech. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
Both are now in the starting lineup.
“It’s a bigger roll and a different perspective,” Titus said. “It’s pretty fun since we’ve known each other for awhile.”
Titus was a high-volume scorer in high school. He averaged 30 points per game his senior year when he led Tri-Unity to the Division 4 state championship. But college is a different animal.
“The biggest adjustment is just size,” Titus said. “Everyone is still bigger than me, but there’s a whole different pace to the game. I can’t always just do what I want (on offense), I have to play with a certain pace and take care of the ball.”
Indiana Tech has two more West Michigan natives on its roster: Conner West, a redshirt sophomore from Sparta, and Lucas Lyyski, a redshirt junior from Spring Lake.
Lyyski, a 6-foot-8 forward, played big minutes in Game 1. He had seven points and seven rebounds.
“He stepped up big-time for us last night,” Perez said of the Oct. 27 win over Indiana Wesleyan. “That was his first real college game putting in big minutes. We needed it. He’s going to be a big part of our team.”
In 96 career games, Perez has started 45 times. Last season, he played in 37 games, averaging 5.7 points and 1.5 assists per game. Titus came off the bench in 30 games last season and averaged 3.4 points.
Indiana Tech’s Lucas Lyyski drives to the basket during the season opener on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
