Baylor's Zane Restelli drives to the goal.
photo by M.A. Locke
It was just another typical Baylor-McCallie athletic battle at Baylor’s Jimmy Duke Arena/Austin Clark Court on Friday night.
Who cares what sport it is and overall records mean virtually nothing, but these two teams fight for all they’re worth.
Most of the time, basketball games between these two rivals are really close where one or two possessions might be the difference, but that wasn’t the case in this latest war as the host Red Raiders had strong first and fourth quarters to win with ease by a 73-53 final.
Both teams scored 29 points in the second and third quarters, but it was a 10-point advantage in both the first and fourth stanzas that proved to be the difference as Baylor improved to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in region play while McCallie dropped to 10-8 overall and 0-1 in region play.
And while many of us have seen more than our share of Baylor-McCallie games, Friday’s game was the first for both head coaches in one of the most loud and spirited gymnasiums where the capacity crowd stood and cheered for just about everything that happened.
Baylor’s Quinn McDowell loved seeing the crowd’s enthusiasm and it really made him feel good to come out on top of such a storied rivalry.
“I thought our resilience was the key as we just kept swinging,” he began while sitting in the quiet of his office following the game.
“Give McCallie a lot of credit as they were down a couple of guys, but they battled us the whole way. They made a great run to start the second half, but our guys responded and didn’t seem to get shook.
“I wasn’t real happy with the way we ended the first half, but my guys answered the bell with some timely plays. We were able to overcome some adversity where we didn’t play well at times, but I liked our toughness and we’ll just keep working to get better,” he smiled.
McCallie’s Kenneth White experienced some crazy atmospheres during his time at Boyd Buchanan, but nothing quite as insane as what he experienced on Friday.
“It was a crazy atmosphere to be sure, one that I wish we could play in every game,” he began while standing outside the McCallie dressing room.
“We needed a run to start the second half and we got it, but Baylor came right back with a run of their own as they just seemed to hit another gear in the second half.
“Our offensive execution wasn’t what it needed to be, but it was a tough game to be sure and everything I thought it would be,” White nodded.
Kaleb Gallman, who topped everyone with his 25 points, scored the first two points on free throws at the 7:23 mark of the first quarter, but that was McCallie’s only lead of the game as the Red Raiders broke from a 7-7 tie to finish the first quarter on a 14-4 run for a 21-11 lead at the first break.
Zane Restelli, who led Baylor with 23 points, scored on a drive down the lane with 1:18 left in the half to give the Red Raiders their biggest lead at 36-19 before Gallman scored the final five points to make it a 12-point game at intermission.
McCallie got six straight points from Jayden Scott and two more from Gallman to start the second half as that 12-point lead was suddenly four at 36-32. But that was as close as they got as Restelli broke Baylor’s scoring drought with two free throws at the 4:13 mark before swishing a 3 on the next possession and it was quickly a 10-point game after Mantas Paldauskas scored on a drive down the lane with 2:59 left.
Baylor was still comfortable ahead 50-40 when the third quarter ended.
Both teams traded baskets to start the final stanza before Baylor scored 12 straight to extend a 58-47 lead to 70-47 with 1:20 to play following two more free throws by Restelli.
With subs from both teams on the floor at this point, McCallie’s Noah Bain scored on a putback at the end to make the final difference 20 points.
Gallman was the only McCallie player in double figures while Scott added nine and Tim Scotton eight.
Restelli had plenty of support as Palduskas finished with 17 and Bolton Born 11.
Baylor had an unofficial 13-11 rebounding edge in the first half, but stretched it to 33-18 in the second half as Restelli topped the Red Raiders with 10. Ezra Sixto and Kevin Sacas both grabbed six.
Scotton topped the Blue Tornado with six rebounds while Trell Knight had five.
McCALLIE 11 13 16 13 -- 53
BAYLOR 21 15 14 23 -- 73
McCALLIE (53) – Levitt, Kaleb Gallman 25, Lawhorn, White 2, Scott 9, Mathews, Bain 2, McDonald, Knight 4, Sutton 8, Tipton 1, Walker 2, Burton.
BAYLOR (73) – Mantas Paldauskas 17, Scearce, Neal 1, Barker 2, Kegerreis, Sixto 7, Whaley 2, Bolton Born 11, Simpson, Zane Restelli 23, Sacas 7, Smith 3.
3-POINT GOALS: McCallie 5 (Gallman 3, Scott, Scotton); Baylor 8 (Restelli 3, Paldauskas 3, Born, Smith).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Baylor and McCallie students
photo by M.A. Locke