Courtesy of Union City Schools
Union City’s boys have essentially owned the district tournament championship in the program’s 16 seasons in Class A.
The numbers support that assessment.
The Tornadoes won their fourth straight district tourney title, their seventh in the past eight seasons and for the ninth time since joining the Single-A ranks in 2005-06 with a 49-41 victory over Bradford Wednesday night.
League MVP Ben McMillan scored 18 points to help UC to another grinding win over the Red Devils this season – the Twisters’ third in as many meetings with Bradford.
Union City (19-7) will now enjoy homecourt advantage for as long as they remain alive in the Region 7A Tournament, which will begin either Saturday or Monday against Peabody or Middleton. The brackets will not be finalized until District 14A completes its tournament Thursday.
The Purple and Gold, which will move up to Class 2A next season in a new four-classification set-up, exited the 1A district ranks by adding to its already-impressive resume that includes a pair of state titles (2006, 2008), a state runner-up finish (2015) and four other trips to the sectionals.
Shane Sisco, the winningest head coach in the decorated history of the Tornado program, spoke glowingly about the program’s successful run in Class A.
“It’s been a really good span for us and we’ve been very fortunate to have the success we’ve had,” Sisco said. “It’s been a super competitive time with the likes of Humboldt and Trenton in the earlier years, and we’ve developed some good rivalries with quality programs like Bradford in the last few years.
“I think the change to 2A will be good, too. We’ll be in a district with some familiar names like Westview, Milan and Gibson County, and we’ll go into Middle Tennessee for region play and across the river for sectional games.
“We’re looking forward to it, but we’ll always have fond memories of and be proud of the success we’ve had in Single-A.”
Union City combined stellar defense with just enough made shots from the field and the free throw line Wednesday to claim its latest district championship.
A run of 10 answered points early in the second quarter erased a four-point deficit and put the Twisters in front for good.
Freshman Malaki Brooks drained a long 3-pointer before McMillan converted on back-to-back drives and one of two foul shots to give UC the lead. Neil Brown capped the surge with a bucket in the paint to make it 19-13 with under two minutes left before halftime.
Taylan Tribble’s buzzer-beating triple made the difference 22-15 at the break.
With points at a premium in the third quarter and more than 30 fouls whistled over the last two periods, the Tornadoes gradually expanded their margin to 33-20. Union City’s first double-digit lead (29-19) came when AJ Blackman slashed his way to a 3-point play with 3:36 left in the segment before DJ Robinson and Blackman then each made a pair of charities to grow the lead even larger.
Twice more, in the fourth period, the UC lead was 13 before the final four minutes of the foul-plagued contest became a constant parade to the free throw line for both teams.
The Tornadoes made 11-of-18 from the stripe down the stretch, with McMillan hitting 6-of-8. In all and as a team, UC hit 19-of-30 from the free throw line.
Bradford (19-10) got no closer than seven in that final frame.
“We didn’t have a lot of rhythm early and didn’t get off to a good start, but after the first five or six minutes, we were very engaged and locked in,” Sisco added. “We defended the 3-point line much better than we did the last time we played them and made them put the ball on the floor and drive.”
Joining McMillan on the All District team were Brown and Carter Walton, with Brown and Walton also selected to the All-Defensive team as well.
Perhaps as impressive as the court accomplishment, Union City placed all five of its seniors – McMillan, Brown, Walton, Tribble and Ben Martinek — on the All Academic Team, with each sporting at least a 3.0 grade point average.
“I’ve been doing this (coaching) 26 years and having five kids on All Academic Team is a tremendous accomplishment by our kids,” Sisco concluded. “It really speaks volumes about their character and their work ethic in the classroom. They’re all involved in our magnet school and honors classes and this is extremely impressive with their curriculums.”
