Leading favored Ripley 38-34 with just over four minutes to play, the Union City Golden Tornadoes went scoreless on six straight offensive trips, allowing the (19-9) Tigers to rally for a 49-41 victory in the District 14-2A consolation game on Monday at Martin.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said the loss sends (11-17) Union City to District 13 champion Jackson Central-Merry (13-9) for Saturday night’s Region 7 boys quarterfinal game.
Union City, which has struggled at times to put together a complete four-quarter game this season with a youthful lineup, again saw that play out Monday against Ripley.
The Twisters committed three costly turnovers and missed four shots from the field, while the Tigers took full advantage of the untimely dry spell with 13 unanswered points.
“We were loose with the ball and then couldn’t get a shot to go down when we did get a look at the basket during that three or four minutes,” Tornado head coach Bill Kail said afterward. “Part of tournament basketball is having good possessions and taking care of the ball when the stakes are the highest. That’s the second game in a row where we didn’t do that in the fourth quarter, and it cost us.”
Following the tournament, Hollister Johnson and J.B. Thompson were named to the All-District and All-Tournament teams, with Tayshun Gentry named to the All-Academic Team.
(photo: Mike Hutchens – School Communications Director)
