The Turner boys' basketball team was back in action this past Friday and Saturday, hoping to get the year started on a positive note. On Friday, the boys were in Box Elder to challenge Box Elder in a district 9C clash. The Bears took an early lead and never looked back, taking down the Tornadoes 87-69. Saturday, the Tornadoes hosted the Fort Benton Longhorns and played solid basketball for 32 minutes. Turner built a small lead early and continued to build on it for the rest of the contest, defeating Fort Benton 71-54.

Friday in Box Elder, Turner came out firing from the opening tip on through the entire first quarter. Senior Trent Billmayer knocked down a pair from distance and scored eight first quarter points. Junior Carson Maloney added eight more of his own, keeping the Tornadoes close, trailing 20-19 heading into the second quarter.

Turner continued to put pressure on the Bears while maintaining a hot hand from beyond the arc. Junior Caleb Zellmer connected twice from distance, Senior Ryan Doyle and freshman Ty Beck each had a triple of their own. Turner scored 21 more before the break but trailed by four, 45-41 heading into the halftime break.

Turner fell into a bit of an offensive slump coming out of the break and watched the Bears expand their lead to 64 -41 with just the fourth quarter to play. Turner did their best to slow down the Bears but, in the end, it was just too much to overcome, and the Tornadoes fell 87-69. Doyle led the Turner squad with 20 points. Maloney torched the nets for 15 points while Zellmer added 14 and Billmayer 13 in the loss.

The Fort Benton Longhorns were in town Saturday night and the Tornadoes were set to bounce back from the night before in Box Elder. Maloney scored eight and Zellmer nailed a triple, providing the offense that led to Turner opening up a 16-13 lead at the end of eight minutes of action. Maloney maintained the hot hand with another eight points to power the Tornadoes to a 31-27 lead heading into the halftime break.

Shawna Billmayer

Maloney and Doyle each contributed a triple and seven points in the third quarter. Junior Tate Beck and Zellmer each found their mark from beyond the arc in a huge Tornado third quarter, giving Turner a 54-42 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Turner kept the offense rolling down the stretch, leading to a 71-54 win over the Longhorns. Turner connected on seven triples as a team in the win. Turner was led on the night by Maloney with 27 points, Doyle finished with 13 and Zellmer 12.