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Twister outcomes better forgotten

Twister outcomes better forgotten
Twister outcomes better forgotten
TRENTON — It was a weekend anyone associated with the Union City boys’ basketball program had just as soon forget.
A pair of less-than-memorable peformances resulted in two losses in the District 14A Tournament and relegated the Tornadoes to fourth place in an event they have either won or finished second in six times in the past nine years.
UC followed up a miserable 72-36 showing in Friday’s semifinal loss to Lake County with a 42-35 setback against Greenfield in the consolation game less than 24 hours later on Saturday.
The setbacks dropped the Twisters to 14-18 on the season — likely ensuring their first losing season and worst record in head coach Shane Sisco’s otherwise-sterling 12-year tenure.
The program last had a record under .500 in the 1998-99 campaign — the season before Sisco took over.
Of more immediate note, the results mean Union City must travel to and face the District 13A champion in first round Region 7A Tournament play this Friday. Dresden and Bruceton play tonight for the 13A district tourney title.
The Tornadoes were offensively-challenged in both losses over the weekend.
They actually made five fewer field goals (14) than they had turnovers on Friday night vs. LC when they shot a miserable percentage from the field and the charity stripe (5-of-14).
And the Falcons and first-year head coach Dawn Barger showed no mercy, continueing to press with her starters until well into the fourth quarter with Falcon reserves finally invoking the 35-point mercy rule with just less than two minutes to play.
On Saturday, UC, notorious for its 3-point shooting prowess during a stretch of years that’s seen the program thrive and win five state championships, did not make a single shot from outside the arc in nine attempts against the ’Jackets.
It also marked the first time since they dropped down to the single-A ranks in 2005 that Greenfield has beaten the Tornadoes.
Tip-off for Union City’s first-round regional tournament game will be announced on Tuesday.
FRIDAY
Lake Co. 72, UC 36
The Twisters didn’t make a field goal to start the game until Chris Boucher scored with 3:31 showing in the opening frame.
The locals then had a stretch to start the second half when they were outscored 10-0 and didn’t tally for 31⁄2 minutes and had turnovers on five of six possessions while Lake County (16-11) expanded a 14-point intermission advantage to 44-20.
“We’d worked on having two people back to stop the ball and, at the beginning of the game, we had two people back and neither of them stopped the ball,” said Sisco, who — along with his father and assistant coach, Marty, was assessed a technical foul in the second half of the blowout. “We didn’t stop the ball, and we did a very poor job of attacking their pressure.
“Offensively, because of being short-handed a little, we’re having to use our best scorer (Antonio Cox) as a primary ballhandler and that’s limiting his effectiveness. Overall, it just wasn’t a very good effort by anybody.”
Cox, the Tornadoes’ top point-maker for the season with a 22 ppg average, was held to six points.
Tyler Steward, who missed Tuesday’s district quarterfinal game against South Fulton with what is reportedly a torn elbow tendon, did see limited action but failed to score. Steward averages 11.7 ppg.
Peyton Mosley was the lone UC player to hit double digits, scoring 10.
Rafael Tyler led a quartet of twin-figure scorers for the victors, hitting for 19.
SATURDAY
Greenfield 42, UC 35
The Tornadoes had turnovers on exactly one-third of their possessions (17-of-54) and again were shaky from the foul line (13-of-24) as their struggles to make points continued.
UC led by a single point at the end of both the first and second quarters, but trailed by a point heading into the stretch run.
Russ Smith had a team-high 10 points and was the only double-figure scorer for the Twisters. Mosley added eight, Steward seven and Cox six.
Sports editor Mike Hutchens can be contacted by e-mail at mhutch@ucmessenger.com.