By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Plain and simple, Union City took care of business.
The top-seeded Tornadoes bolted to a 19-3 lead in the first six minutes and never looked back in cruising to a 75-53 win over South Fulton in the District 13A Tournament semifinals Friday night.
With its third straight convincing victory over the Red Devils, UC improved to 19-10, secured a spot in Monday’s championship game opposite second seed Bradford, and also earned a home game in the opening round of the regional tourney next week.
The Tornadoes – winners of five straight and eight of their last nine — were firmly in control from the get-go against SF, taking a lead they would never lose on the first of Sam Theobald’s 3-pointer 56 seconds into the contest. A rare four-point play by Ben McMillan highlighted the Twisters’ early surge and the lead was never smaller than 12 thereafter.
The biggest difference was 27 points, enjoyed twice by Union City in the third quarter.
“It all started on the defensive end,” Tornado head coach Shane Sisco said afterward. “We were able to turn them over with our pressure (10 first-half turnovers) and then we made some shots. I thought it was really critical that we got on them early because they have some length and shot-making abilities to give people problems.
“For the entire first half and the first three or so minutes of the third quarter, we were really good. We controlled tempo, didn’t give them many second-chance opportunities and had some balance between our perimeter game and our post game.”
Ben McMillan, the Tornadoes’ leading scorer on the season but a non-factor in his team’s two regular season wins over South Fulton due to injury and limited playing time on Senior Night, was in top form with a game-best 29 points. McMillan made nine 2-pointers, three of UC’s eight 3-pointers and all three of his free throw attempts.
Both Kaler Bobo and Theobald ended up with 13 points apiece, the latter drawing praise from his coach for an excellent all-around game.
“I thought Sam played great defense, he rebounded the ball well, and then he made the three 3-pointers,” Sisco added. “He’s really come on in the last couple of weeks and given us a third option offensively. He’s been just as impressive on the defensive end and with his work on the boards.”
The Tornadoes also got a combined 14 points from Nick Sanders and Neil Brown in the post ‑‑ the duo responsible for six straight markers during the Twisters’ aforementioned hot start.
Union City led 22-10 at the first-quarter horn and 35-17 at halftime after McMillan converted a three-point play and Bobo scored on a drive in the final 44 seconds before intermission.
Theobald connected twice from deep, McMillan dropped in a triple and Sanders scored off a steal to fuel a 13-4 flurry in the first 2:48 of the third quarter and build the difference to 48-21.
It was never closer than 15 points the rest of the way, despite the Red Devils making five 3-pointers in the final stanza. UC remained firmly in control by making 10-of-11 shots from the field in that fourth quarter.
The impressive performance built upon the Tornadoes’ regular-season signature victory over Dyer County – a 3A team that entered postseason play with a 23-5 mark – a week earlier.
“We’d been in some tough, close games against some teams from bigger classifications, but I thought that win over a very good Dyer County team really gave us something that we needed coming into the postseason,” Sisco said. “It was good for our confidence and was a shot in the arm mentally.
“And I thought we carried that over into tonight’s game when it mattered.”
The Tornadoes ended up shooting a blistering 71.8 percent (23-of-32) from 2-point range and 8-of-21 (38 percent) from beyond the arc. UC outrebounded the Redmen 28-18.
Bryce McFarland led South Fulton with 25 points. The Red Devils will play Lake County in Monday’s 6 p.m. consolation.
DISTRICT 13A TOURNAMENT
BOYS SEMIFINALS
- FULTON —53
Bryce McFarland 25, Brock Brown 12, Britt 7, J. Brown 6, Malray 3.
UNION CITY — 75
Ben McMillan 29, Kaler Bobo 13, Sam Theobald 13, Sanders 8, Brown 6, Walton 4, Wilson 2, Blackman 2.
So. Fulton 10 7 17 19 — 53
Union City 22 13 18 22 — 75
Records: South Fulton 12-16; Union City 19-10.
Next Games: UC plays Bradford for the District 13A Tournament championship, Monday night at 7:30 at UT Martin. South Fulton faces Lake County for third place Monday at 6 p.m.
Photo by Mike Hutchens