By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Both Union City teams saved their best for last against Crockett County.
The end result was a Tornado doubleheader sweep of the Cavaliers in UC’s first home games of the season.
A 19-6 fourth-quarter run rallied the Twisters to a 51-42 victory in Game 1, while the Union City boys made 8-of-9 free throws down the stretch to give Bill Kail his first Purple and Gold head coaching victory, 59-50, on Thursday night.
UC’s girls improved to 2-0 in the opener as Sh’Nyla Moss sank 10 straight charities in the fourth quarter as part of her perfect 14-of-14 performance from the foul line. The All-State junior guard filled up the stat sheet with a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
The Tornado boys got a splendid 25-point, 12-rebound effort from sophomore Hollister Johnson, who punctuated his performance with six blocked shots and a pair of rim-rattling dunks.
Johnson and J.B. Thompson were money from the charity stripe at crunch time for Union City (1-1), which pulled away after the Cavs had closed to within 47-45 midway through the final frame.
UC will play the last of three Hall of Champions games on Saturday night when it visits Lake County.
UC 51, CC 42 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes were impressive on both ends during a 13-2 spurt in the first 6 ½ minutes of the final frame that turned a four-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
Alli McMillan’s 3-pointer with 6:30 to play gave Union City the lead for good, with Moss then taking over and converting a variety of drives to the hoop and at the free throw line.
UC endured a 5 ½-minute dry spell in the second quarter and trailed by as many as five before a 13-2 run produced their largest lead of the opening half, 23-17. Moss capped the rally with a pair of runs at the bucket.
Crockett County (0-2) used a 17-9 third-period stretch to carry a 36-32 lead into the final frame.
Uriah Davis turned in a solid effort for the Twister girls with 11 points and nine rebounds, with McMillan finishing just shy of double digits with eight markers.
UC 59, CC 50 (B)
Consistent hustle was again the trademark for the Tornadoes, who bounced back from a season-opening close loss to Humboldt to square their record at 1-1.
Johnson was dominant on both ends of the court for UC, mixing good work inside and outside the arc on offense with strong defensive play while protecting the rim.
The slender sophomore had 10 of his points in the second quarter – including a pair of triples – to help his team to a 27-22 intermission advantage.
It was 42-39 entering the stretch run, and CC was still within a deuce (47-45) before the Twisters, who showed improvement over Game 1 with their ball-handling and decision-making, pulled away at the charity stripe.
Johnson went 5-for-5 from the line in that final stanza while Thompson made 3-of-4.
UC got solid contributions from Kobe Maddox, Ayden Lewis, and Brayden Marshall in addition to Johnson and Thompson, with each finishing with six or more points.
Thompson matched Johnson’s rebounding total with a dozen.
MIDDLE SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Martin 36, UC 33 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes are now 6-6 on the season after dropping a close decision at Martin.
UC, which beat the Chargers earlier in the season, was tied at 19 at halftime before Martin went ahead with a 10-5 third period.
Aryannah Huff had a big night for the Lady Twisters, scoring 21 points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Martin 42, UC 29 (B)
Union City is now 2-10 after losing to Martin for the second time this year.
Brayson Smith poured in 18 points for the Tornadoes, while Brody Fields scored eight.
UC trailed 14-4 after one, and 26-13 at the intermission.
The Twisters host USJ on Monday.