By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–‘Crunch time’ had two entirely different meanings and results for Union City Tuesday night.
The Golden Tornado boys broke a 53-all tie with 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to beat Class 4A Henry County 71-64.
Kenny Moss, who scored a career-high 18 points, bottomed a 3-pointer and put in a deuce from underneath to help key the Twisters’ deciding surge and beat the visiting Patriots for the second time in three weeks while improving to 7-2 this season.
Meanwhile, the Twister girls saw an 11-point fourth-period lead evaporate under a barrage of HC free throws and came out on the short end of a 54-46 final.
Henry County ended the game on a 23-4 flurry and made 19-of-22 from the foul line in the final eight minutes to fuel its late charge to send Union City (3-6) to its third straight setback and avenge an earlier loss to the Purple and Gold.
A combined 62 charities were attempted in the contest with the Lady Patriots making a whopping 33-of-38 (86.8 percent). UC was successful on 14-of-24 tries.
Three persons were inducted into the Union City High School Hall of Honors during between-game ceremonies, with tennis player Laura Gilliam, football coach Darren Bowling, and basketball player Donte Simpson joining the elite fraternity.
The Tornado teams will play on the road Friday at South Gibson County and Saturday night at Dyer County.
UC 71, Henry Co. 64 (B)
Freshman Zak Summers banked in a 3-pointer early in the stretch run to break a 53-all tie and put the Purple and Gold in front for good.
Joseph Lattus also connected from downtown and C.J. Davis scored from in close to contribute to UC’s telling run.
The trio of DeAngelo Monroe, Jayden Evans, and Malaki Brooks combined to sink 5-of-6 free throws in the final 40 seconds to keep the Twisters in front after HC had sliced the difference to 66-62.
Union City won despite getting handled on the glass, a factor neutralized by the Tornadoes forcing 22 turnovers with its constant scrappy pressure.
Monroe’s triple lifted UC to a 31-29 lead and was one of four lead changes in the final two minutes of the first half. Moss converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Twisters up 43-39 at the five-minute mark of the third stanza.
Lattus hit three foul shots in a row to give Union City a 53-50 advantage at the third-quarter horn.
Brooks joined Moss in twin digits, hitting for a team-high 20 points. Both Monroe and Lattus finished with nine.
Henry Co. 54, UC 46 (G)
The Lady Tornadoes enjoyed 11-point leads in the second, third, and fourth quarters before wilting under HC pressure and committing countless critical turnovers that led to Patriot foul line trips.
Aujani Moss scored Union City’s first six points, and a run of seven unanswered markers capped by Marlee Theobald’s bucket put the Twister girls up 17-6 early in the second quarter.
UC scored eight of the first nine points in the second half – six of those by Debrionna Jones – to expand its 24-20 intermission advantage to 32-21 at 5:25 of the third frame.
Moss had back-to-back buckets, Jones scored, and Theobald knocked down two foul shots to put the Lady Tornadoes ahead 42-31 with six minutes left before Henry County began its comeback.
Olivia Kendall made 8-of-10 foul shots in the fourth quarter for the Lady Patriots, while Bayleigh Thompson hit all six of her tries to fuel the rally.
Jones led Union City in scoring with 17 points, while Moss added 10, and Theobald tallied nine.