“We came out with a lot of energy and effort on the defensive end today,” Talladega College head coach William Brown said. “We got out in transition and got some easy baskets.”
The top-seeded Tornadoes (17-16) came out on fire as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead behind the shooting of Kerry Harvis. The sophomore knocked a down two three pointers and a layup in the first three minutes of the game. The sophomore kept his hot hand throughout the first half as he went on a 7-0 run to give TC a 21-11 lead with 11:02 left in the first half.
The Tornadoes shot the ball well from behind the arc in the first half. Senior Micah Hagens came off the bench stroking as he connected on four out of six three pointers in the first half. Hagens drained back-to-back three pointers before halftime, including one with three seconds left in that half to give TC a 43-23 lead going into halftime. TC went 7-11 from behind the arc in the first half.
“One point of emphasis is getting out to good starts, and finishing the half strong with energy and effort,” Brown said. ”We didn’t have any mental lapses. We made stops on defense, got out into our transition game and made easy baskets.”
The Tornadoes picked up where they left off to start the second half. TC opened up the half on 12-6 run due in large part to Kerry Weaver. Weaver scored seven points during the run, including a layup to give the Tornadoes a 56-29 lead with 15:26 left in the second half.
“That’s what we have been looking for all year,” Brown said. “He came out with energy; he rebounded, ran the floor and scored when he got the ball in the paint.”
The Tornadoes’ defense created havoc for Marygrove throughout the game. TC held Marygrove to 30 percent from the field. The Tornadoes turned 21 turnovers by Marygrove into 20 points.
Harvis led the Tornadoes with 17 points. Hagens scored all 15 of his points from the distance. Weaver scored 13 points for TC. Freshman Phil Wood was impressive in his first postseason debut. The point guard from Washington D.C. almost had a triple double. Woods scored 12 points, pulled down nine boards and dished out eight assists.
“He is full of surprises,” Brown said. “He can’t be rattled. He is more dependable on the defensive end. He is getting everybody involved because we need them this time of the year. I expect that from him. He is one of the top freshmen in the nation, USCAA, Division II, and Division I.”
Kenny Irby had a strong game coming off the bench. Irby pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds and scored seven points.
The Tornadoes take on Oakwood College today at 9 a.m. TC beat Oakwood by double digits twice this season. Brown said those two games don’t matter in tournament play.
“You can throw those two games out the window,” Brown said. “We know what they do, they know what we do. It comes down to work. It has everything to do with who is going to get stops and play for 40 minutes.”
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