By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–It was just the start of district play that Union City needed.
The Tornadoes opened their 12-AA slate with a sweep of visiting Huntingdon Tuesday night, winning the girls’ contest 45-39 and the boys’ nightcap 49-37.
UC’s girls are now 11-5 overall and will pick up a second league win and 12th victory in all officially Friday when they are credited with a COVID triumph over Milan.
The Twister boys (6-11) snapped an eight-game skid with their Tuesday win and will host Milan Friday night in a single game that is slated to begin at 6:30.
Eighth-grade members of the UC Middle School teams were recognized in between-games ceremonies Tuesday night.
BOYS
UC 49, Huntingdon 37
The Tornadoes paired scrappy defense with some streaky shooting in the first two quarters to get back in the victory column.
Maliki Brooks knocked down a pair of 3-pointers late in the opening stanza before hitting another triple after teammate Joseph Lattus connected from long range in the first two minutes of the second frame to account for a burst of 12 unanswered points and a 17-4 Purple and Gold lead.
Brooks had 12 of Union City’s 21 second-quarter markers and finished with a game-high 23 points.
The Twisters stretched their lead to as many as 18 points just before the intermission before settling on a 32-15 halftime advantage.
D.J. Robinson’s trey a couple of minutes into the second half gave UC its biggest margin of the night, 37-17. The difference was never smaller than the final margin afterward.
Robinson ended with 11 points to join Brooks in double figures.
Huntingdon fell to 6-10.
GIRLS
UC 45, Huntingdon 39
Amari Bonds (20) and Sophie Theobald (16) combined for all but nine of the Lady Tornadoes’ points as Union City survived a roughly played contest.
Theobald had 10 of her markers in the opening half, including a 3-pointer and a deuce in the last minute of the initial frame to put her team up 13-6. Another Theobald triple and a Bonds’ bucket accounted for UC’s largest first-half lead – 18-9.
Up by four at the intermission, the Twisters saw the Fillies forge a brief 19-all deadlock in the third stanza before Aujani Moss buried a 3-pointer to put Union City up for good.
Marlee Theobald’s 12-footer early in the stretch run and a pair of Bonds free throws with 3:05 to play gave the Lady Tornadoes a double-digit advantage (43-33) and essentially sealed the deal.
Huntingdon’s record dipped to 9-7 and saw the Fillies saw three-game winning streak snapped.