The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The Turner Tornadoes were in Chester on Friday to challenge the Hawks in a District 9C battle. In a game that saw both teams have their chances in a back and forth game, it was the Hawks that secured a 46-39 victory over the Tornadoes. Saturday the Tornadoes returned home to take on the Big Sandy Pioneers. In a contest that went to the wire, it was Big Sandy that secured a 51-48 overtime win over the Tornadoes.

Turner got off to a hot start with Senior Trent Billmayer knocking down a couple of trifectas, scoring 8 points in the first quarter, helping the Tornadoes take a 14-8 lead over the Hawks. It was a whole different game in the second quarter, as the Tornadoes' offense was limited to a three-point bucket by junior Carson Maloney and a pair of free throws by senior Ryan Doyle, scoring just 5 points in the second quarter.

Trailing 24-19 to start the third quarter, Turner got five points from Doyle, a bucket from freshman Tye Beck and a free throw each from seniors Tate Beck and Billmayer. While managing 11 points in the third quarter, the defense limited the Hawks to just nine, sending the teams to the fourth quarter with the Tornadoes trailing just three points, 33-30.

The Tornadoes finished out the fourth quarter with Tye Beck knocking down a triple and Billmayer, Maloney and Doyle each scoring two points a piece.

In the end, it was the Hawks that would secure a 46-39 win over the Tornadoes. Leading the way for the Tornadoes were Billmayer and Doyle, each with 11 in the contest.

On Saturday night, in front of their hometown crowd, the Tornadoes welcomed the Big Sandy Pioneers. It was a defensive battle early, with Maloney knocking down a triple and Doyle scoring three of his own to help the Tornadoes score nine in the opening frame. In a game that would go back and forth, the Pioneers held a 10-9 lead after one quarter of action.

In the second quarter, the offense came alive a bit more with the Tornadoes scoring thirteen in the frame. The Tornadoes got five points from Doyle and four points from Tate Beck. Defensively, the Tornadoes also gave up thirteen, sending the teams to the locker room with Big Sandy leading 23-22 at the half.

Coming out of the break, Turner ratcheted up their defense, limiting the Pioneers to seven points in the third quarter. The offense, however, did the same, scoring seven points with five coming from Doyle, allowing the Pioneers to maintain a one-point lead heading into the final quarter, 30-29.

In the fourth quarter, the Tornadoes did just what they needed to, outscoring the pioneers 10-9 to send the game into overtime with the game knotted at 39-39. Doyle scored six points in the overtime period; combined with a three-point bucket from Tate Beck, the Tornadoes finished the contest with 48 points. The Pioneers, however, scored 12 in overtime, giving them a 51-48 victory over the Tornadoes.

The Tornadoes were led on the night by Doyle's 24 points. Beck added nine while Billmayer contributed eight in the contest. Turner will return to the court on Saturday, January 27 against North Country and will host Box Elder on Friday, February 2nd.