With crucial support from Jay Hardy, Eric Rivers leads McCallie over Chattanooga Christian

McCallie's Eric Rivers takes the ball down the floor during Friday night's home win against Chattanooga Christian. / Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter
McCallie's Eric Rivers takes the ball down the floor during Friday night's home win against Chattanooga Christian. / Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter

Able to excel even with a heavy load on his shoulders, Eric Rivers still needed his teammates to help preserve a region basketball victory at home.

For the second straight game McCallie won in the final seconds thanks to Jay Hardy. The big man rose up to deny a valiant comeback attempt by Chattanooga Christian School by blocking a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds left.

A pair of free throws by Joryam Saizonou closed out a 50-46 Division II-AA East victory for the Blue Tornado (9-10, 1-1).

"I was hoping Jay would get the block, because I missed the dunk right before," said Rivers, who scored nine of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter and added 10 rebounds. "I said, 'Please don't go in,' and thankfully Jay was right there to have my back."

Rivers was 7-of-11 from the field and 9-of-10 on free throws.

On Wednesday, Hardy hit a game-winning 3-pointer to beat Howard, and while he didn't score Friday, his effort on defense was similar to how he helped his school win the state football championship.

The four-star defensive end was a focal point for two Southeastern Conference football programs as Tennessee and Auburn coaches were in attendance.

"Playing basketball has really been a lot of fun, and we play for each other," Hardy said. "Eric is a great player, and I know he's going to have big opportunities this time next year. These past two wins are really big for our confidence."

Hardy added that he has made up his mind on where he is going to school and that schools in attendance were taking their "last swings."

Saizonou scored 15 points, which included a left-handed slam dunk to open the second half. The Netherlands native has made an instant impact for McCallie. The athletic guard has been a top scoring presence alongside Rivers.

"Eric has to have pretty big shoulders for us with how young we are," Blue Tornado coach David Conrady said. "Jay has done a great job, and Joryam is as offensively talented as any kid I have coached."

Junior Spencer Turner caught his coach's eye with his effort on crashing the boards as well as a play where he grabbed a loose ball while on the floor and passed ahead to help find Saizonou for a fast-break layup.

"Spencer was outstanding and gave incredible effort," Conrady said. "Without him we aren't where we were at the end of the game. He is a big reason why we have had some success."

After Hardy's effort play to save a rebound helped get an open bucket for Saizonou to build a 44-34 lead with five minutes remaining, CCS (13-5, 0-1) stormed back.

Treveon Scott used his power from six feet and in and scored 15 points, and Grant Van Meter and Michael Houge hit big 3-pointers late to make for one-score deficits.

The 6-foot-7 Houge finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds and hit his third 3 with 45 seconds left to cut McCallie's lead to 48-46.

The Blue Tornado hung on through a wild finish.

"I am really proud of our kids," Conrady said. "We took a heavy punch late against a really, really good CCS team who has some great players and is well coached. We knew it would take a heavy lift to come out with a win against them tonight."

Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.

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