By Kody Farmer
Turner boys fall to Lustre, take down Frazier at Class C Showcase in Glasgow to start season
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The 2021-22 Turner Tornado Boys Basketball Team
The Turner Tornado Boys Basketball team has been hard at it preparing for the upcoming season. The Tornadoes have struggled through the years but have been making strides recently and look to add some more wins to their season total this year.
Guiding the Tornadoes this year is first year Head Coach Johanna's Brown. Assisting on the Tornado bench will be Dalton Cornell.
The Turner Tornado roster includes returning starters in senior Shay Humphreys and Trever Kimmel. Junior Charlie Calvert is back as well to add some leadership and veteran experience to the roster.
Back for their third season are sophomores Trent Billmayer and Ryan Doyle, both contributed a bunch as freshman and saw plenty of action as eighth graders as well. Freshman out this winter are Tate Beck, Caleb Zellmer, Carson Maloney and JR Brown, all saw limited action a season ago. This years squad includes just one eighth grader, Joseph Trautmann.
The Tornadoes opened their 2021-22 season this past weekend in Glasgow at the Class C Showcase. Turner came away with a weekend split. The Tornadoes were defeated Friday night by Lustre Christian 78-33. Saturday morning the Tornadoes bounced back with a 51-46 win over Frazier Bearcubs 51-46
Friday night against the Lions the Tornadoes were unable to get any traction right from the opening tip. Lustre Christian opened up a 18-7 advantage and extended their lead to 45-15 by intermission. Turner was unable to gain anything back in the second half, falling 78-33 in the season opener.
Carson Maloney led the Tornado offense with 16 of the teams 33 points. Ryan Doyle added eight markers for the Tornadoes in the loss.
Saturday morning was a different story all together for the Tornadoes. Doyle connected twice from distance and scored eight points in the opening stanza to help turner to a 13-4 lead over the Bearcubs. Maloney scored eight first half points to add to the effort, leading to a 20-18 Tornado halftime lead.
The defense took control for the Tornadoes in the third quarter, limiting Frazer to just six points in the stanza. Doyle connected twice more from long range and Maloney added a triple of his own to build a 34-24 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Bearcubs rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring 22 points in the stanza. The Tornadoes were up to the challenge and answered back with 18 of their own to win the contest 51-46.
Maloney led the Turner attack with 15 points in the win. Doyle connected on four three's and scored 14 points. Trevor Kimmel added eight points down the stretch and finished with 13 while Billmayer scored eight, including seven in the fourth quarter.
The Tornadoes will next take the court in Fort Benton on December 17 when they will take on the Longhorns. Turner will play in front of the hometown fans for the first time in the new season on December 18 when the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks will come to town. Dodson will visit Turner on December 20 in a non conference tilt.
The Tornadoes will close out 2021 with a trip west to Box Elder to take on the Bears. They will return to the court for the first time in 2022 on January 7 when they will travel to Hays to challenge the Thunderbirds.
The Tornadoes will then hit the road for games in Chinook January 8, Big Sandy January 14, North Star January 15. Turner will return home to face the Fort Benton Longhorns on February 21 before hitting the road for a couple more road contest. The Tornadoes will visit Chester on January 22 to play the Hawks and Dodson January 28 for the rematch with the Coyotes.
The Tornadoes will finish their regular season with five straight home contest beginning with Box Elder January 29, the Box Hays/Lodge Pole February 4, Chinook February 5, Big Sandy February 11 and North Star February 12.
The District 9C Tournament will once again take place in Havre at the Blue Pony Gymnasium. The tournament will run from February 16-19. The top three teams will advance to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls, February 23-26 at the Four Seasons Arena. The top two teams will then advance to the State Class C Boys & Girls State Tournament in Bozeman, March 9-12.
