By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Jackson Chism’s only basket against Waverly couldn’t have been any bigger for Union City.
Chism’s turnaround six-footer with 25 seconds remaining broke a 44-all tie and was the difference in the Tornadoes’ 46-44 victory over the District 11 runner-up Tigers in Saturday’s Region 6-AA quarterfinal.
The win – UC’s third in four postseason games – sends the Purple and Gold (12-17) into the second of two semifinals Tuesday night at 7:30 against host Milan (20-7) with a berth in the sectionals at stake.
The Tornadoes followed Chism’s clutch basket with a stellar defensive possession that hurried Waverly’s Bryce Stanfield into a no-good shot with two seconds to play and set off a Union City celebration.
“We persevered and showed some grittiness and toughness,” Twister head coach Shane Sisco said after his team had extended its season at least one more game. “You have to be able to respond to adversity, and we had some when they stepped up and made a 3-pointer to tie it up with a minute to go.
“A lot of times in those situations, you see teams rush down and take the first shot available because they’re shaken. We were very patient, though, and Jackson (Chism) was able to get in position to score. His coming through there was obviously huge, but he had done some of those things back around Christmas. We need him to get back into that habit as we move forward.
“And then, I thought we had one of the best defensive possessions we’ve had all year on their ensuing possession. We went straight man and got the stop we needed to close out the game.”
UC led the majority of the contest and by as many as eight points early in the second half.
The first of Ben Kail’s two 3-pointers put the Tornadoes up 17-15 halfway through the second period, and Union City tallied on four straight possessions with Malaki Brooks hitting twice and D.J. Robinson once following Kail’s trey.
A deep trifecta by Brooks just before the halftime horn made it 26-21 at the intermission.
Clinging to a 36-34 advantage heading into the final frame, UC went up by as many as five (42-37) before the Tigers cut the difference to one point on a pair of Noah Foster free throws with 2:57 showing. Robinson added a deuce to the Twisters’ total with a drive at the 2:37 mark before McKale Ritter drained a trey with 1:14 to go to knot the count at 44.
Robinson led Union City with 18 points, while Brooks tossed in 16. Both had a pair of 3-pointers.
In looking ahead, Sisco noted that adjustments would be critical as the Tornadoes and Milan split a pair of regular-season meetings.
“When you get to this time of the season, and you’re playing someone from your district again, you know what the other team is going to try to do,” he claimed. “Making adjustments is the major challenge for both them and us.
Waverly saw its season end with an 18-5 mark.