Southern’s 1,000 points scorers help Tornadoes secure TVC-Hocking Crown
By: Charlie Lusk
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RACINE, Ohio (WOUB) — Going into their Thursday Night matchup against the Federal Hocking Lancers, the Southern Tornadoes were one game away from clinching the TVC-Hocking outright. Also, their two stars Reed Brinager and Andre Chandler were on the verge of eclipsing the illustrious 1,000-point mark. The Tornadoes accomplished all three in a convincing fashion, beating the Lancers 70 – 34.
The scale of the moment was used as fuel to Southern instead of bogging them down. The Tornadoes got off to a lightning-fast start taking a 19-5 first-quarter lead. Reed Brinager broke 1,000 points in style, hitting a step-back three-pointer to put the Racine faithful into a frenzy.
In the second quarter, Federal Hocking moved the ball with better efficiency, creating more buckets but was still unable to keep up with Southern’s firepower. Brody Rutter and Mosiah Cottrill were able to find open spaces to combine for 13 points in the second quarter. However, the Tornadoes still extended their lead thanks in no small part to Chandler’s ability to drive to the basket.
Andre Chandler’s magic moment came in the third when a fast break opportunity saw Chandler grab his 16 bucket to join the 1,000-point club.
“I’ve been told, ‘just let the game come to you’,” Chandler said about the special moment. “That’s what I was doing. So, I came down and saw a lane and I took it.”
Any attempt at a Lancer comeback was stifled by the Tornadoes defense. Southern was able to clog passing lanes collecting 10 steals, most of which resulted in fast break points. Anytime Federal Hocking got a big bucket, a Southern player often made a midrange or layup to take away any momentum from the Lancers.
Southern was able to run away with the game to the tune of a 36-point win over Federal Hocking, improving to 8-0 in conference play clinching the TVC-Hocking title outright.
“I was very anxious about it, knowing the main thing was clinching the TVC,” Coach Jeff Caldwell on his team’s performance. “But I thought we played some of our best basketball tonight. Really, really good team basketball in the first half. And that led to them, you know, getting this pretty early.”
Southern looks to build on their 10-game winning streak when they travel to Wahama to face the White Falcons on Saturday. As for Federal Hocking, the Lancers look to break their losing streak at Miller on Feb. 11.