Tornadoes advance to seminfinals

Philadelphia boys basketball coach Willis Tullos wanted his team to be fast against St. Patrick in the Class 2A boys quarterfinals.

Tullos wanted the Tornadoes to not only play fast but get off to a fast start against the Irish.

The Tornadoes did just that as they started fast and finished strong to take a 59-44 win over the Irish on Friday night at Pearl River Community College.

The Tornadoes improve to 24-5 overall and will take on Potts Camp on Tuesday in a 1:30 p.m. contest at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.

For Tullos, fast was the theme for the Tornadoes against the Irish on Friday.

"We talked about it and focused on getting off to a fast start, especially on a neutral court," Tullos said. "We got off to a better start. We were quite a bit faster than they were. That was the most important things for us. They were huge for a high school team but they hard a hard time keeping up with us."

The Tornadoes came out and led 12-5 at the end of the first period and led 25-19 at the half.

"They came out in a zone and that's all they played," Tullos said. "They extended it and made it as big as they could but that left gaps and we attack those gaps, not the man. We had good success getting the ball inside. We hit some big three against that zone. We did a good job of rotating the ball and their backside guy just wasn't fast enough to get out there. Ira Chambers, Jordan Hill and Tanner Boler all hit big threes in the first half that helped us get the lead and off to a good start."

In the second half, Philly outscored St. Patrick 17-16 to lead 42-35 going into the fourth. St. Patrick hit the first basket of the fourth but the Tornadoes then scored 17 straight to put the game away.

"Going to the fourth, they were wore down," Tullos said. "They were not used to having to run for four quarters and they were pretty much spent. We had eight people score, which is good. We scored quite a few points inside on them. They liked to block shots but I thought our shooters did a good job of getting into their chest. We felt like if they didn't make the shot, we would draw the foul."

Tanner Boler led Philly with 20 points while Jordan Hill had 13 points. J.J. Hudson also had 10 points for the Tornadoes.

"The kids are playing hard and are coming together," Tullos said. "They are sharing the ball really well and getting the ball to the open man and playing with composure. We will play as hard as we can and that's all you can do at this point."

The Tornadoes will take on Potts Camp, which is 23-7 on the season after beating Calhoun City 75-72 to advance to the semifinals.

"We were able to watch them play on Thursday so we have a good scouting report," Tullos said. "They are good and they shoot the ball well. They have got a 6-foot-5 guy who is a good athlete. They are stronger inside than they are outside. So we will try to exploit their guard play."

Tuesday's game is in the Coliseum while Friday's final would be played at Ole Miss.

"Every time I have every played in the Coliseum, it's been interesting," Tullos said. "The free-standing goals and open space is something you have to adjust to. A lot of teams don't score really well in the Coliseum. That open goal makes a tremendous difference and we are just going to fire away at it and do the best that we can."