Timberlake opened the Lynchburg College Invitational with a bang defeating the William Campbell Colonels in exciting fashion. The Tornadoes did not play their best ball, but pulled it together when it counted most in the fourth quarter. TCS started strong and finished strong outscoring the Colonels by 21 points in the first and fourth quarters combined. It was the second and third quarters where things got a little dicey as TCS gave up 33 points while only scoring 21.

Timberlake used key contributions from all five starters throughout the game with each scoring at least two field goals in the contest. Jon Morgan led the team with 19 points, the first time in six games where he failed to reach 20 points. He did reach a different plateau however. With 4 seconds remaining in the third quarter Jon Morgan scored the 1000th point of his Varsity career at Timberlake. Morgan, only a junior, is the youngest player in Timberlake history to reach that mark. Jon also grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest and dished out 6 assists. Several of his assists came in a crucial fourth quarter run that gave the Tornadoes the lead for good.

Chris Newsome added 10 points to the cause and Jonathan Phelps hauled in 10 rebounds of his own. With six minutes remaining in the game, Timberlake found themselves on defense trailing 37-34. They came up with a key steal and on the ensuing fast break, Colby Heckman drilled a huge three pointer from the corner that tied the game. The very next defensive possession led to a break away by Jon Morgan that put the Tornadoes in front for good.

Chris Thomas hit a silky floater along the baseline moments later to keep TCS on top. The Tornadoes then showed poise and patience as they methodically ran out the clock with crisp ball movement and cuts to the basket. The win brings TCS back to .500 as they get ready to take on E.C. Glass in the second day of the tournament.

Coach's Recap