By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Freshman Finn Frankum made the shot that mattered most for Union City.
Frankum salvaged what had been a poor shooting night for the Tornadoes with a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds to play to lift the UC boys to a thrilling 56-54 victory over Trinity Christian Academy Tuesday night at Marty Sisco Gymnasium.
The game-winning trey was just the fourth of the contest for the Twisters and came with Frankum under heavy pressure from the right corner. It was his only basket of the night.
The Purple and Gold (3-0) had made a combined 21 shots from beyond the arc in its first two victories of the season. Union City won despite trailing by as many as 10 points early in the second half and not sinking its first triple until the 1:36 mark of the third quarter.
The nightcap drama salvaged a split of the doubleheader for UC as the Lady Tornadoes saw their own rally come up short in a 48-42 setback vs. TCA.
Union City endured two lengthy point-less spells offensively – one lasting more than five minutes and another spanning over seven minutes.
Still, the Twister girls (1-2) came back from a double-digit second-half deficit to take a short-lived lead via three free throws from Amari Bonds with just over half the fourth quarter remaining.
But the Lady Lions went in front for good (41-39) on an Olivia Lee follow shot with 3:27 to play and made 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch while Union City could manage just one more bucket.
The Tornado teams will resume play immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday, the boys playing West Creek at Kenwood Friday at 2, while the UC girls face Munford at Gibson County Saturday at 2:30.
UC 56, TCA 54 (B)
Though the Tornadoes endured subpar shooting the entire contest, they gave themselves a chance in the late going with continued hustle and gritty play.
Maliki Brooks, who fouled out with 1:32 to go, had 11 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as UC gradually fought its way back from a 33-23 deficit after halftime.
A pair of Brooks’ foul shots drew the Tornadoes even at 50 before the visitors went back ahead 53-50 with less than a minute to play.
D.J. Robinson bottomed 3-of-4 free throws on the Twisters’ next two possessions to even the count before TCA’s Brayden Waller hit the second of two charities with 9.5 seconds left to set up Frankum’s heroics.
After the UCHS cheering section stormed the court – thinking time had expired — 1.2 seconds were put back on the clock. A desperation three-quarter court heave by the Lions bounced harmlessly off the backboard.
Robinson followed Brooks on the Twister score sheet with nine points while both C.J. Davis and Jaylen Lewis tallied six each.
Waller topped TCA (1-3) with 23 markers.
TCA 48, UC 42 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes overcame extensive offensive woes in the first half with a grind-it-out effort after the break, eventually taking a brief lead.
Bonds, who led all scorers with 27 points, had 14 of those in the final eight minutes when she made 8-of-9 foul shots to fuel Union City’s rally.
Aujani Moss had a key bucket in the Twisters’ 12-1 flurry that gave UC its last lead with 4:11 to play.
Sophie Theobald broke the longest of the Lady Tornadoes’ two scoring droughts just after halftime with a 3-point play that cut a deficit from 22-10 under twin digits. Khia German added a couple of buckets in the third stanza that kept Union City within striking distance.
UC managed just four field goals the entire first half.