Rather than reflect on what his Union City boys’ team didn’t do following a season ending 50-38 loss to Middleton in the Region 7A semifinals, Tornado head coach Shane Sisco focused on what the 2024-25 squad did do.
“I believe we got every ounce out of this group that they had,” Sisco said after the Twisters were denied a third consecutive sectional trip with the Tuesday night loss at West Carroll High School. “Obviously, it’s going to hurt you any time you have a season-end loss, but this bunch emptied their tank and gave us their all.
“They showed a tremendous amount of character. They showed up every day to practice. They worked hard and wanted to be coached and to get better. Our seven seniors, regardless of their experience coming into the season, were the glue that held us together through a rough start. They led by example, and I’m proud of them.”
Seniors Ben Kail, Finn Frankum, Kenny Moss, Tayehari Jones, DeAngelo Monroe, Jamarious Abbott, and Kwinton Purifoy wound up their respective Union City careers in the loss.
The group helped the Purple and Gold recover from a 3-10 beginning to the season with wins in 15 of its final 18 games – a stretch that included a second straight 12-0 run through 14A that netted the program its 26th all-time district tournament championship.
Union City ran up against an athletic Middleton squad Tuesday night, though, that played lockdown defense, contesting every pass and shot while holding the Tornadoes to their lowest point output of the season.
The Twisters had a decent start offensively and led 10-7 after the first four minutes, when Ben Kail converted a traditional 3-point play and buried a triple.
Union City then endured an eight-minute stretch with just one field goal, while (16-10) Middleton ran off nine consecutive points during that span and was never again headed.
“They won a one-on-one basketball game tonight,” Sisco added. “We knew if someone could guard us man-to-man without having to help, we’d struggle with that. They just decided they could do that, and it was a good game plan for them.
“We needed to be efficient offensively, and we had 15 turnovers. And we’ve hung our hat on our defense all year and were able to force only six turnovers. They were strong with the ball against our traps, and they found open people when we had to help.
“But it just boiled down to the fact we couldn’t score because they guarded us so well.”
Union City, which trailed 16-12 after one period, 24-18 at halftime, and 32-25 with three periods in the book, found itself down by as much as 39-25 halfway through the final frame.
The Twisters mounted a last-gasp run with a flurry of eight straight markers – featuring treys by Kail and freshman Kobe Maddox – to get within 39-33 with still 3:35 to play.
Middleton, though, who showed great patience and was deliberate with ball possession throughout the night, made 11 straight free throws from the 2:34 mark on to seal Union City’s fate.
Kail, who wound up his fantastic Golden Tornado career with more than 1,000 points and as the district Most Valuable Player in his senior campaign, finished his last game in a Union City uniform with a team-high 16 points. Moss, who had a solid final year, was the only other Twister with more than five points, finishing with eight.
(photos: Mike Hutchens – School Communications Director)
