By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Union City got an ‘A’ for effort but an ‘L’ on its records.
Both Tornado teams put up a good fight against Dyer County’s unbeaten 3A squads but came out on the short end Tuesday – the girls dropping a 50-42 decision and the boys falling 65-60.
The Lady Tornadoes were outscored 29-18 over the middle two frames and missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter to hamper any comeback hopes and fall to 3-4 on the season.
Debrionna Jones had 13 points, and Marlee Theobald sank 9-of-10 foul shots on her way to a 13-point effort for UC.
The Twister boys were done in by a run of 14 unanswered points by the Choctaws to begin the second half – a flurry that turned a 35-33 DC lead into 49-33 difference.
Union City gamely battled back, getting as close as four on two occasions before failing on a couple of opportunities to get even closer down the stretch.
Malaki Brooks and Ben Kail each made four 3-pointers – Brooks finishing with 22 points and Kail 17 for the Purple and Gold which suffered its first loss after five victories to open the season.
Both Dyer County teams are now 6-0.
UC will participate in the Dynamix Hoopfest in Jackson this weekend, the girls facing Hamilton Heights Academy of Chattanooga on Friday afternoon at 4:30 at USJ. The Tornado boys will also play HHA on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Trinity Christian Academy.
DC 50, UC 42 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes led 10-9 after one, with Jones accounting for eight of those markers.
Untimely turnovers hampered Union City over the next 16 minutes, however, and the Twister girls struggled to find the mark with just six field goals and several missed layups during that time.
It was 38-28 DC heading into the final frame.
UC continued to show grit and remained in contention over the stretch run before coming up short.
Uriah Davis had nine points to just miss double figures for the Lady Tornadoes.
Freshman guard Sh’Nyla Moss, a top scorer for Union City in the early season, served the second of her two-game state-mandated suspension after being ejected against Huntingdon and will return to the court in Friday’s game vs. HHA.
DC 65, UC 60 (B)
After a first half of flurries that saw the Choctaws score 10 straight and eight in a row before Union City answered with a 15-4 spurt, the teams entered the halftime break with the visitors up 35-33.
The most telling of runs came when Dyer County ran off 14 points in succession to begin the second half, aided by four UC turnovers.
The Tornadoes got within 50-43 after three frames when Brooks knocked down a triple, then were within 53-49 when Kail dropped in a trey with 6:30 to go.
The second of two Tayehari Jones free throws narrowed the difference to 62-58 with 100 seconds left, but Union City could never make it a one-possession game.
UC made 10-of-34 shots from beyond the arc and had four fewer turnovers (19-15) than Dyer County.
Joseph Lattus pitched in 10 points to the Twister cause.