McCallie's Robert Riddle (23) pulls down a rebound as Tyner's John Boyd (10) closes in during the boy's semifinal game Monday at Chattanooga State.
Tyner's Jerrion Christopher (40) reaches over the back of McCallie's Shawn McColley (25) in first half action in the boy's semifinal game Monday at Chattanooga State.With Kevin Cameron on the court, the Tyner Rams played McCallie fairly evenly Monday night in the Best of Preps basketball tournament at Chattanooga State.
Problem was, the star junior guard was on the court only half the time and the Blue Tornado topped Tyner 63-50 to earn a spot against Central in tonight's championship game.
"We have great respect for Tyner; they're undefeated for a reason," McCallie coach John Shulman said. "They're hard-nosed and they compete, and I'm proud of our kids for competing and beating a very good Tyner team."
The Rams (9-1) sprinted out to a 9-3 lead as Cameron hit his first two shots. However, he picked up two quick fouls and came out of the game. McCallie then went on a 10-5 run to end the first period down just 14-13.
Cameron, who led Tyner with 23 points, picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and didn't play the rest of the half. The Blue Tornado (11-1) took advantage big time with a 21-3 run that led to a 41-22 halftime lead.
With Cameron on the bench, McCallie picked up the pace and made several wide-open jump shots - Adrian Thomas and Max Shulman hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the run - and an array of layups off fastbreak opportunities.
Tyner didn't quit, however. Cameron scored all of his team's 13 third-period points to cut the Tornado's lead to 15, then scored five points in a 7-0 run to start the final quarter and get the margin down to eight.
"You knew they were going to make a run," Coach Shulman said. "Baby K - I don't even know his name - but that guy competes. He willed his team back in the game. It was good for us to have to make some free throws and make some stops."
Max Shulman's tip-in with 5:42 left pushed the lead back to nine, and the lead was seven when Cameron picked up his fourth foul. Thirty seconds later he picked up No. 5 as McCallie's Junior Clay streaked into the lane. Clay would secure the win with five late free throws.
"The depth they have, we just couldn't keep up," Tyner coach Keitha Booker said. "They just wore us down. We lost to a great team. When Kevin fouled out, it hurt us big time. We tried to make a run for it and we kept fighting. We had a chance to get back in it, but when Kevin fouled out it took a lot out of us."
Clay led McCallie with 16 points, with Shulman adding 14.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22.