McCallie's basketball team learned two valuable lessons Tuesday night. First, despite a disastrous start, the Blue Tornado realized they can challenge defending state champion Brentwood Academy. But they also were reminded of just how talented Eagles senior wing Darius Garland is.
After trailing by 17 points early in the second quarter, sixth-ranked McCallie made a furious rally to take a short-lived lead midway through the fourth quarter. But Garland was simply unstoppable down the stretch and led second-ranked BA to a 68-59 Division II-East/Middle region win.
"My teammates got me some wide-open shots, so I just had to be sure and make them," said Garland, a Vanderbilt signee and McDonald's All-American who finished with a game-high 32 points, including his team's first 21 of the second half. "Once I got in a rhythm I felt really confident in my shot."
The Eagles won all three meetings last season by at least 15 points, including the state championship game, and they built a double-digit lead in the game's first six minutes Tuesday and extended that advantage to 17 twice in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
But McCallie (18-3, 4-3) cut the deficit to six by halftime and took its first lead since the opening seconds of the game on Jr. Clay's three-point play with 5:43 remaining. BA answered with a 6-0 run, including a pair of baskets after offensive rebounds, and steadily pulled away late.
"I thought we got a little fatigued, but that's to be expected after playing three games in four days," Blue Tornado coach John Shulman said. "Two years from now Darius Garland will be playing in the (NBA) somewhere. He's absolutely that good.
"After getting down the way we did, with the history we have against BA, I really liked the way we fought back. You either win or you learn, and tonight I thought our guys learned some things that we can build off of."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.