Turner Boys Hold to Beat Nashua 69-62, Top Glasgow JV 57-53 to Start 2-0

The Turner Tornado Boys basketball team has gotten off to a perfect start after picking up a couple of wins in Glasgow over the weekend. Turner was taking part in the Class C Showcase. Friday morning the Tornadoes opened up a big lead against the Nashua Porcupines before holding on for a 69-62 season opening win. Saturday morning they earned a thrilling come from behind 57-53 win over the Glasgow Scotties JV.

The Tornadoes wasted little time in putting the first points of the season on the board Friday morning against Nashua. Sophomore Carson Maloney tapped the tip to his left where junior Ryan Doyle collected the ball and beat the defence to rim for a quick 2-0 Tornado lead. The Porcupines answered right back with a quick three ball to go up 3-2.

Turner then took control of the flow of the game. Senior Charlie Calvert made a nice steal, quickly got the ball into the hands of Doyle for an easy layup. Junior Trent Billmayer added another layup and Doyle knocked down a long straight away three-point dagger to give the Tornadoes a quick 9-3 lead. The offense kept rolling pressuring the Porcupines at every opportunity.

Sophomore Tate Beck made a nice defensive play, secured the loose ball and made a perfect pass to Doyle who then glided in for another easy score for the Tornadoes. With time running down in the first quarter Beck found a cutting Maloney for another Tornado basket at the rim and a 16-7 advantage.

The Porcupines made a nice run to close out the quarter, but the Tornadoes held onto an 18-14 advantage heading into the second stanza. Calvert started the second quarter with a perfect dime on an inbound pass to Beck for an easy jumper to get the offense started. Maloney stepped out to the perimeter and buried a long three. Doyle then attacked the defense, made an acrobatic shot from the right side of the key before adding a left elbow bomb to put Turner on top 28-16 leading to a Nashua timeout.

Coming out of the timeout Doyle drained another from beyond the arc and the Tornado offense kept rolling. Doyle scored 14 points in the second quarter and 23 in the first half leading the Tornadoes to a 37-28 lead at the halftime break.

Maloney had the hot hand in the third quarter scoring 10 in the frame for the Tornadoes. Sophomore Caleb Zellmer and Beck each connected from distance to extend the Turner advantage to 55-42 heading into the fourth quarter.

Nashua suddenly found their game to start the fourth, outscoring Turner 11-3 to start the quarter. Billmayer made a nice pass to Doyle to push the Tornado lead back to eight at 60-52. Doyle later went away from the screen and drove hard to the basket for another basket. Nashua followed with an old fashioned three point play to cut the Turner lead to 62-57 with 3:11 remaining in the contest.

The Tornadoes steadied the offense and Doyle found Billmayer on a back cut for an easy score. With time running down Doyle put the finishing touches on a season opening win with a pair of free throws to secure a 69-92 win. Doyle led the Tornado attack with 32 points in the win. Maloney added 15 and Billmayer accounted for eight.

Saturday morning the Tornadoes faced a tougher test with the Glasgow Scotties. Doyle scored a couple of buckets inside and knocked down a pair of free throws in the opening eight minutes of action. Maloney found the mark from long range and added a bucket to help the tornadoes offense. The Scotties were right on their heals early on trailing just 11-10 heading into the second quarter.

The Tornadoes were able to extend their advantage before the half. Doyle connected on a pair from the charity stripe and Calvert added one of his own. After Glasgow took a 16-15 lead Calvert came up big with a tough shot from the right block to give the Tornadoes back the lead. Doyle hit a three ball from the top of the arc to start a nice run for the Tornado offense.

Beck took a hard foul while scoring a bucket and Billmayer converted at the rim then knocked down the free throw late in the quarter sending the teams to halftime with the Tornadoes holding a 26-17 advantage.

Starting the third quarter the Scotties went on a 7-0 run to cut into the turner lead. Billmayer ended the run with a long three from the right elbow to swing the tide back in the Tornadoes favor. Doyle knocked down a free throw line jumper and Billmayer took it hard to the basket to put Turner back on top by ten, 38-38.

Turner opened the fourth quarter holding a 38-32 advantage and were looking to maintain their advantage. They did just that, only giving back two points down the stretch. Calvert was clutch down the stretch scoring nine in the final frame. Maloney connected on a pair from beyond the arc to help turner secure a 57-73 win and start the season 2-0. Calvert led the way with 18 big points while Doyle added 15 and Maloney 11 for the Tornadoes.

Head Coach Darci Ammen was pleased with her team's competitiveness over the weekend, "I am happy with my boys' performance at the Glasgow Invitational. We will be working on a variety of defences to get ready for our District 9C games and continuing to fine tune our offenses. The boys played great defence this weekend against some great post oriented teams. We will keep focusing on all of the details of the game.

Ammen herself had an incredible week, she led the Turner Tornado Junior High Girls to a District 9C Tournament in addition to leading her Varsity boys to a couple of wins. First, she left Turner for Gildford to coach the girls, returned to Turner Friday morning, drove to Glasgow to coach the boys then following the conclusion raced back to Gildford for semifinal contest with the girls and then did it again on Saturday. In all, her teams went 5-0, captured a title while she travelled 919 miles to make it happen. Good job Coach!

Turner will host the Fort Benton Longhorns on Friday, December 16 in their District 9C and home opener.