To say that attendees were left with standing room only by the time this rivalry matchup tipped off wouldn’t do justice to just how packed McCallie’s home gymnasium was on Friday night. Fans found every conceivable spot in the house to cram themselves in, many of which congregated on the concourse above the stands where they peered under dangling championship banners to land a view of the action.
The scores of Chattanoogans were treated to an exciting affair that ended with Baylor pulling away late to win by a final score of 54-46.
“We did a good job of not letting the emotion of the game cause us to do things that we haven’t been doing,” said Baylor head coach Mark Price.
Baylor students, many of whom had traded their shirts for body paint, were the first to be roused by their team, as the Red Raiders methodically bullied their way to a nine-to-nothing lead in the first quarter. The early advantage was fueled by their massive center Jack Shutters, who was a mismatch all night, dropping in nine first-quarter points, and blocking shots on the other end.
“He (Shutters) was great scoring the ball,” said Price. “Even when Jack didn’t score the ball tonight, he did all the little things like screen and post hard… He was impacting the game tremendously,” said Price.
Shutters and the rest of the Red Raiders smothered McCallie early and didn’t allow a single point for the game’s first six minutes, finishing off the quarter up by nine.
“It’s a great rivalry,” said Shutters. “It’s such a fun game to play in. Off the court, we’re all friends, but on the court, it’s a battle,” added Shutters.
Needing a major spurt to avoid seeing this one get out of hand, the formerly lifeless McCallie offense came out much more crisp in the second period. A nine-to-three run to end the half that included buckets from five different McCallie players cut the Blue Tornado deficit to just three as the game reached its halfway point.
Having tripled their first quarter point total in the second, McCallie continued to ride the momentum early in the third. After tying the game early in the half, junior Parker Robison got a shooter’s roll on a straightaway three-pointer when he pulled up from two feet beyond the three-point line, and the Blue Tornado had its first lead of the night.
Led by their excellent sophomore guard Zane Restelli, Baylor responded. They snatched the lead back in the closing seconds of the quarter, and fans jockeyed for territory harder than they had all night, eager for a view of the deciding eight minutes.
The well-coached Baylor team controlled the game’s concluding quarter. Restelli and his backcourt mate Nyziah Whaley sprung their team to a nine-point lead early in the fourth and McCallie wouldn’t get closer than six for the remainder of the night.
As the royal blue half of the gym began to form streams up the stairs and towards the exits, Restelli scored seven of Baylor’s final eight points, finishing with a game-high 18 and leading Baylor to a rivalry win away from their home court.
“Yes, it was a win against McCallie which is great for our community,” said Price. “But it was more substantial that it was a region win, which puts us as 4-1 in the region with three to play,” said Price.
The Red Raiders now move to 3-0 against McCallie this year and have put themselves in a great position to seal a playoff spot and make a run toward a state championship which Jack Shutters called, “our ultimate goal.”
SUMMARY
BAYLOR 16 10 11 17 - 54
McCALLIE 7 16 12 11 - 46
BAYLOR (54) - Zane Restelli 18, Jack Sutters 13, Nyziah Whaley 11, Barton 6, Ucieszynski 5, Sparks 1.
McCALLIE (46) - Kollin Claridy 15, Parker Robison 13, Shulman 6, Kwasigroch 4, Kennebrew 4, Polous 3, Millner 1.
3-point goals: Baylor 3 (Barton 2, Whaley); McCallie 6 (Shulman 2, Robison 2, Polous, Claridy).
Records: Baylor (12-6, 4-1); McCallie (8-13, 1-5).