Red Raiders rally past rival McCallie, 55-53 [photos]

McCallie's Jorden Starling (42) guards Baylor's Boris Ristanovic (12) as he dribbles the ball downcourt during the archrivals' Division II-AA East/Middle matchup Friday at Baylor. Both scored in double figures in Baylor's 55-53 victory.
McCallie's Jorden Starling (42) guards Baylor's Boris Ristanovic (12) as he dribbles the ball downcourt during the archrivals' Division II-AA East/Middle matchup Friday at Baylor. Both scored in double figures in Baylor's 55-53 victory.

Baylor led for just five minutes in its Division II-AA East/Middle home basketball game Friday night against McCallie, but those five were punctuated by the final buzzer.

A strong fourth quarter netted the Red Raiders a 55-53 win and a regular-season sweep of the rival Blue Tornado, although McCallie won when the two teams faced off in the Best of Preps tournament final.

Baylor trailed until the 4:56 mark of the final period, falling behind by 12 points in the second half.

"We showed a lot of intensity and a lot of energy, and we battled back," Baylor coach Austin Clark said. "That's what a coach wants to see. We finally got some shots going, and our defense turned them over to get us back in the ballgame."

McCallie came out firing, connecting on six 3-pointers in the first half after going 0-for-11 in the same span in the previous meeting. The Blue Tornado led 32-27 at halftime, then pushed their lead to 12 in the third quarter with an 11-4 run.

That's when freshman Randy Brady gave the Red Raiders a spark. Brady hit a contested layup and got fouled. After the made free throw, Baylor got a steal on the ensuing inbound, and Tre Jackson hit from beyond the arc to pull his team within six ahead of the fourth quarter.

McCallie scored to open the final period, but Brady got a steal after a Baylor 3-pointer and completed another three-point play to trim the lead to 45-43.

"He was huge tonight," Clark said. "He was huge rebounding and on defense. Everyone who played tonight had a role. That's how it goes in Baylor-McCallie games. Everyone has a role, and our guys stepped up."

Jr. Clay followed with two free throws for McCallie before Baylor flurried again with eight straight points to take a 51-47 lead.

Clay fought to keep the Blue Tornado within striking distance with 20 total points and eight of McCallie's 10 in the fourth quarter. His layup with under 30 seconds to play brought McCallie back within two. A Baylor turnover left the visitors with the final shot, but the buzzer-beating attempt from beyond the arc didn't connect.

"We led the majority of the game, and losing Trip Butler really hurt us," McCallie coach John Shulman said. "He's one of those guys that can get to the basket for us. We battled and battled and gave ourselves a chance to win. The ball didn't go in.

"If that last shot goes in, we're a little happier, but I'm proud of our kids and I love them."

The loss comes in a tough stretch for the Blue Tornado that has included losses against national No. 2 Oak Hill Academy and Hamilton Heights and a hard-fought one-point win over Montgomery Bell Academy and concludes with region games against Ensworth today and Brentwood Academy.

"We're battle-tested," Shulman said Friday. "I don't think there are going to be a lot of teams that want to play us come tournament time. We're going to learn from this and we're going to have to move on. We've got Ensworth coming in tomorrow."

Brady finished with 12 points, which was matched by teammates Boris Ristanovic and Lorenzo White. Beyuan Hendricks added 11.

Jorden Starling was the only other double-digit scorer for McCallie with 10 points.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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