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The Alcoa boys basketball team finally showed its potential on the defensive end -- and just in time to deliver sweet revenge against a region foe.

The Tornadoes outscored the Redskins 31-8 in the third quarter and cruised to a 70-51 victory at home Monday night. The win avenged a 59-56 loss at Loudon in December.

Nursing a 27-24 lead at halftime, Chase James drove to the hoop for a quick score a few seconds into the third quarter to set the tone offensively and defensively. The Tornadoes (6-7) hit several big shots and forced six Loudon turnovers during its key 20-0 run, and the Redskins (7-8) didn't score until 2:35 remaining in the quarter.

"We just concentrated on getting stops, and we got several there in a row, and it snowballed for us," said Alcoa coach Micah Marsh. "We showed a little potential. If we play hard and play good defense, we can beat some good teams, and hopefully this'll open our eyes up a little bit."

Alcoa boasted a balanced scoring effort, landing all but one player on the scoring tab. Logan Sharp led the Tornadoes with 14 points and two 3-pointers, one of which followed James' tone-setting layup at the start of the third quarter to further fuel the defining run.

"Our effort defensively was beyond pitiful," Loudon coach Colt Narramore said. "We didn't come out with the intensity that we had the first time around. Alcoa is better, but we're not where we should be."

Ryan Brennan and David Lee Haskins led Loudon with nine points each.

The Tornadoes travel to region rival Fulton for their next game. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Lady Redskins 69, Lady Tornadoes 48

The Alcoa girls threatened to make it a game for a while.

The Lady Tornadoes (2-11) trailed 27-9 in the middle of the second quarter but managed to close the margin to 33-24 at the end of a turnover-ridden first half.

But Loudon's Janell Menard and Mardissa Hampton quickly put an end to any such threat. The two stars for the Lady Redskins (11-4) combined for 26 of their team's 30 points in the third quarter to put Alcoa away. Menard finished with 28 points, including four 3-pointers, and Hampton tacked on 22.

The Lady Tornadoes turned the ball over an additional eight times -- five of those steals from either Menard or Hampton -- and only scored 11 in the third quarter.

"It was very frustrating," Alcoa coach Tonia Gay said. "You manage to cut it, and then ... you don't take care of the ball and don't shorten passes and stop doing things that made you successful in the first half."

Megan Hill scored 13 to lead the Lady Tornadoes, who will play next at region foe Fulton at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.