It didn’t matter that Grace Academy outscored McCallie by 14 points over the middle two quarters in Tuesday’s high school basketball game at McCallie. It also didn’t matter that the Golden Eagles held the Blue Tornado without a field goal after Jay Meacham’s with 3:22 to play.
What mattered was that McCallie scored the game’s first 15 points and that proved to be enough cushion for a 62-57 victory.
Five McCallie players contributed baskets during the beginning scoring streak. From there Grace methodically chipped away at the deficit, and by the time Brandon Herman drove the length of the floor for a layup slightly before the third-quarter horn sounded, the margin was down to 42-40.
Meacham failed to complete a three-point play after his late basket. That was part of the Blue Tornado’s 5-for-10 showing from the free-throw line in the remaining time.
McCallie coach Dan Wadley said he won’t emphasize the negative today in practice but rather be grateful that 50-percent shooting down the stretch was good enough this time.