Down 14 after just five minutes of its Division II-AA East basketball game with McCallie, Chattanooga Christian came all the way back.
Almost.
The Chargers got to within three twice, but the Blue Tornado hung on and claimed a 59-53 win Friday night at CCS. With the win, McCallie completed a regular-season sweep of CCS and improved to 13-14 overall and 2-2 in the region. Chattanooga Christian dropped to 15-7 and 1-3.
“I was really proud of our guys,” said Tornado coach David Conrady. “We relaxed a little there (early), and in the second quarter the game became more what we thought it would be.”
Chargers coach Eddie Salter sat three usual starters through the game’s first eight minutes for having violated team rules. McCallie took full advantage, sprinting to a 17-3 lead on an Eric Rivers 3-ball five minutes in.