NEWTON — While the Philadelphia Tornadoes have been in Class 3A, the Newton Tigers have been dominating their division in Class 2A.

That didn’t change much on Friday night when the Tigers broke open a close game in the fourth period to take a 47-40 win over the Tornadoes.

The Tigers improve to 12-5 on the season and 2-0 in Division 4-2A play, while Philadelphia falls to 8-8 and 0-1 in division play.

“This is a big win in district,” Newton coach Darin Gray said. “Philadelphia is one of the better teams in the district, so it’s huge to get a win against them at this point season. They are just so big and long.”

The game was back-and-forth the first three periods. After each team scored 10 points in the first quarter, Philadelphia took a 20-18 lead at the half as Jarron Boler nailed a 3-pointer with 26 seconds left in the half. 

Newton tied the game in the third period as it outscored the Tornadoes 10-8 in the frame to send the game into the fourth tied at 28-28.

The Tigers then then took control of the game as Tony Burks and Jamarian Pace hit back-to-back 3-pointers to fuel a 15-2 run that was capped off by a Brandon Payne 3-pointer with 3:42 left to play to give Newton a 43-30 lead.

“I think the difference in the game was we picked it up on defense in the fourth,” Gray said. “We changed our defense and started to pressure them, and it kind of bothered them. And we hit a couple of big shots and finally got some of those to fall.”

Pace led Newton with 14 points, while Payne added 13 points and Javarious Moore added seven points. Boler led Newton with 24 points, while Stetson Moore scored 12. 

NEWTON GIRLS 50, 

PHILADELPHIA 34

After taking an 8-7 lead, Newton never trailed again and took a 16-point win over the Lady Tornadoes.

The Lady Tornadoes scored seven straight points to lead 7-6 with 2:57 left in the first. But Newton scored the last four points and led 10-7 at the end of the first. The Lady Tigers then used seven second-period points by Nia McAlphia, including a 3-pointer with 31 seconds in the half to lead 22-17 at the half. 

After outscoring Philadelphia 12-10 in the third to take a 34-27 lead into the fourth, Newton pulled away in the fourth with a 10-2 run to open the period and take a 44-29 lead after back-to-back baskets by McAlphia.

McAlphia led Newton (13-3, 2-0) with 17 points, while Myja McNichols added 15 points. 

Nia Luckett led Philadelphia (9-6, 0-1) with 12 points, while Andrika Carter added eight points.