Chad Lee had nothing to lose.
So with time winding down in the third quarter and McCallie’s basketball lead against Baylor down to single digits, the McCallie senior threw up a prayer.
It was answered.
Lee’s clutch buzzer-beating 3-pointer pushed the Blue Tornado back to a double-digit advantage. Their lead never fell under 10 again, and they went on to take a 57-43 Division II-AA East-Middle Region victory over the rival Red Raiders.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Lee said of the shot. “I fumbled the ball some, then turned, threw the ball up and hoped it went in. I kept my form straight and was lucky it went in.”
Said McCallie coach Dan Wadley: “It was a huge shot, and Chad had enough sense to take it. Instead of panic, he squared up and shot the ball.
“We don’t practice that, but I’m glad it went in.”
Lee paced the Tornado (12-3, 3-1) with 14 points, with Jordan Price adding 13. The Tornado got 19 points from their reserves, including three 3s by freshman guard Jamaal Calvin.
“I can’t say enough about our bench,” Wadley said. “The strength of our team is the whole team from the starters down.”
McCallie controlled the game from the outset, taking a 10-0 lead and leading 18-7 at the end of the first quarter. The lead swelled to 28-10 at one point in the second quarter and the Tornado led 34-18 at the half, taking advantage of some fastbreak opportunities for easy baskets.
“We were impatient in the first half,” Baylor coach Austin Clark said. “We didn’t move the ball around and took the first shot available. Then when we got down, the kids weren’t mature enough to stay with the game plan. We got caught up trying to run with them, and they’re too good.”
The Red Raiders started to cut into the deficit in the third quarter, twice cutting the lead to eight. The second time was on a layup by junior post David Clendenen that made it 36-28.
“I’m proud of how our guys responded when they made that run,” Wadley said. “The guys played as though they knew we were going to weather the storm.”
Baylor (11-6, 2-1) was led by Clendenen, who had 13 points. Tylan Martin added 11.