Telegraph Staff Writer
Union County High School saw its season come to an end with a 65-51 loss to Newberry, but not before picking up its first district tournament win in eight years.
The Tigers (14-11) were seeded fourth in the District 6-1A tournament. They defeated fifth seed Bell 70-42 in the Feb. 7 quarterfinals before losing to top seed Newberry in the Feb. 8 semifinals.
Thomas Williams scored 19 points in the quarterfinal win, while Johnte’ Nichols and Gavin Jenkins scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Tigers also got nine points from Jayce Puni, six points from Dee Williams, five points from Cole Andersen-Davis and three points each from Jayden Jenkins and Kam Paytee.
Dee Williams led Union in rebounds against Bell with 10, while Andersen-Davis had eight. Gavin Jenkins recorded a team-high four assists, while Thomas Williams led the team in steals with five.
Despite the loss in the tournament semifinals, the Tigers had just their third winning season in seven years. Their 14 wins were the most they had since winning 25 games in 2015-16.
Newberry (21-6) would go on to lose 48-47 to second seed Hawthorne (9-6) in the District 6 championship game.
