Tornadoes overcome odds to win region title

The Philadelphia Tornadoes completed a perfect run through Division 6-2A with two more wins last week.

The Tornadoes opened the Division 6-2A Tournament with a 45-40 win over Lake and finished off with a 71-51 win over host Newton on Friday to clinch the tournament title.

Veteran Coach Willis Tullos was proud of his team for stepping up, which won despite several players being out with the flu.

"We really had some kids step up," Tullos said. "We only had seven because we had several out with the flu. But we had some kids come in a get some big rebounds. They really did a good job of covering for their teammate. I was really worried about Friday night. It was a tough environment. But if you are going to win a state championship, you are going to have to win in a tough environment."

The Tornadoes improve to 21-5 on the season and will open the Class 2A playoffs on Tuesday as they host East Marion in a 6 p.m. contest. If the Tornadoes win, they would host the winner of Wesson and Taylorsville on Friday.



Philadelphia boys 71

Newton 51

The Tornadoes overcame an early deficit and took a 20-point win over the Tigers to claim the Division 6-2A championship on Friday night.

Newton jumped out to an 18-9 lead in the first period before the Tornadoes got going and outscored the Tigers 31-16 in the second to lead 40-34 at the half.

"With 1:42 left in the first quarter, we still hadn't scored," Tullos said. "Then we scored nine points to finish out the quarter and scored 31 in the second quarter. The kids stepped up their intensity and made Newton turn the ball over. We weren't letting them get the easy baskets and that was really the difference. Our defensive intensity was good for the rest of the night and it was hard for them to get an easy shot the rest of the night."

The Tornadoes continued to extend the lead in the second half as they outscored Newton 18-7 in the third to lead 58-41 going to the fourth. Philly took the fourth period 13-10 for the final margin.

Jordan Hill led Philadelphia with 19 points while Tanner Boler had 16 points. Ira Chambers had 11 points while Cisco Wilson added eight points.

Philadelphia boys 45

Lake 40

The Tornadoes again overcame a slow start and pulled away late for a five-point win over the improving Hornets on Thursday.

The Tornadoes struggled early as they trailed 10-3 at the end of the first. The Tornadoes outscored the Hornets 11-8 in the second and trailed 18-14 at the half. The Tornadoes outscored the Hornets 16-11 in the third to take a 30-29 going to the fourth. Philly then outscored Lake 15-11 in the fourth for the final margin.

Tanner Boler led Philly with 13 points while Jordan Hill had 12 points. Cisco Wilson had eight points and Ira Chambers added seven points.



Lake girls 58

Philadelphia 56

The Lady Hornets got two players in double digits and took a two-point win over the Lady Tornadoes on Tuesday in an elimination game.

Lake led 9-8 at the end of the first and 26-20 at the half. Philadelphia rallied in the third, outscoring Lake 17-11 to tie the game at 37-37. Lake outscored Philadelphia 21-19 to take the win.

Zharia Leflore led Philadelphia with 25 points while Jenasha Clemons had 12 points and Martea Burkes added eight points.