To beat John Shulman's basketball team takes withstanding a continual barrage of pressure and having the legs to finish.
Unfortunately for Meigs County, it was without two of its best legs during Thursday's Best of Preps basketball tournament semifinal with McCallie. Shulman's Blue Tornado (10-1) unleashed wave after wave of pressure in subduing the Tigers, 87-59, and will face Brainerd in tonight's championship game. Meigs (9-2) will play Tyner for third place.
McCallie roared to an 18-5 lead in under three minutes, thanks to 4-for-5 success from 3-point range and its trademark press that produced four quick steals. The Tigers, in fact, had nine first-period turnovers as the Blue Tornado took full advantage of the absence of injured point guard Zy Moore.
"Last year we got instant gratification off our press, but we are not as athletic this year, so we might not get as much instant gratification as we do cumulative gratification," said Shulman, whose team ended the game with 18 steals. "That showed tonight because I think they got worn down a bit. Then we come at you in waves.
"Now, let's give Meigs County credit because they were without their leader, and to press a team without a point guard is a lot easier. We just played, with him, a (state) final-four single-A team. They are really good."
Meigs finally adjusted to the press and used a 12-5 run early in the second period - including Wriley Smith's third 3-pointer of the early going - to cut the lead to 34-27, but McCallie closed the half with a 17-6 spurt and held a 51-33 lead as the deep Blue Tornado bench began to stand out.
The second half, in stark contrast to Wednesday's first-round win over Central, was even more impressive for the Blue Tornado. Sparked by the all-around play of point guard Junior Clay and the inside duo of Jordan Starling and Jay Gibson, McCallie poured in 27 points to blow the game open. The Tornado entered the final period up 78-47.
"I've got more confidence in my inside guys than they have," Shulman said of a group that also includes son Max Shulman, Trip Butler and Mac Hunt, each 6-foot-4 or taller. "We've got good size and we have to use it. Tonight they don't have an inside guy, so our big guys are chasing their little guys, but also their little guys had to guard our big guys, so we had to make them pay."
Tonight's title-game opponent, Brainerd, also isn't overly blessed with size, but Coach Shulman knows the Panthers make up for it.
"Brainerd is unbelievably athletic and talented," he said. "We are going to have to play our best basketball to have a prayer tomorrow."
Clay and Gibson led McCallie with 14 points each, with Butler adding 12 and Starling and Hunt 10 each. Cam Harris topped Meigs with 13 points, followed by Clint Oliver with 12.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.