Like many great ideas, this one came from necessity. After struggling to stop Baylor's offense throughout the first half, McCallie's basketball team had barely stepped inside the visiting locker room before being ordered out by coach John Shulman.
The frustrated Shulman led the team down a long hallway to one of Baylor's practice gyms and began reminding the Blue Tornado of the defensive lessons he had tried to get through to them before the game.
Although lasting only a few intense minutes, the impromptu practice session paid off as McCallie held rival Baylor scoreless for more than seven minutes to begin the third quarter, allowed just five points in a nearly 15-minute stretch and earned a 66-48 Division II-AA East/Middle win.
"We did a much better job defending what they had whipped us on offensively in the second half, and that was the difference," Shulman said. "You don't win on talent as much as you do grit and effort, and we were much better at that in the second half.
"Their offensive execution in the first half was much better than our defensive execution, and that's why they were whipping us. We were able to make a few shots, and that's the only reason we were ahead."
Both teams came out blistering the nets early, combining to make eight 3-pointers in the first quarter. McCallie's JaVaughn Craig and Baylor's Gage Upshaw each connected on three treys in the opening period, but only Craig made one the rest of the way as Upshaw was held scoreless for the final three quarters.
Although the Blue Tornado led for most of the first half, their advantage was rarely more than five points and the Red Raiders rallied to take a one-point lead on a Jaylon Baker layup late in the second quarter. McCallie (19-4, 4-2) closed the half by scoring six of the final eight points to regain its lead and then began the third quarter with a 9-0 run in building a 15-point margin by the end of the third.
"I know my dad has done some crazy things to motivate his teams when he was a college coach, but this was the first time I've been a part of something like that," said McCallie junior Max Shulman, referring to his dad's halftime adjustment. "It was worth it and I think it got our attention. We were a lot more focused on defense to start the second half."
Max was one of four Blue Tornado players with nine or more points, led by Seth Clark's 13. McCallie's depth also seemed to wear on the Raiders through the second half. The Blue Tornado went to their bench to get 18 players into the action, seven more than Baylor.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.