Baylor senior Al Peciulis took a pass on the left elbow from Evan Haynie and knew exactly what he was going to do with the basketball.
The 6-foot-6 playmaker backed down his defender in the post, then faked a pass out to the perimeter before spinning around and making a beautiful jumper, stretching the Red Raiders' third-quarter lead to 15 over reigning TSSAA Division II-AA state champion Montgomery Bell Academy.
Peciulis was masterful on the court in front of his home crowd Saturday night as he scored 28 points to lead the Red Raiders to a 72-57 victory. The talented stretch forward even picked apart the visitors while playing point guard during the second half, when he showcased his running floater and his ability to get to the foul line, where he shot 12-of-14.
"The key is to have composure," Peciulis said. "Our team really has played with that lately in the last several games against a really tough schedule. This is my senior season, and I want to leave it all out there. I really want to help this team make a run for a state championship in my final high school year."
Baylor fourth-year coach Mark Price was thrilled watching the skilled senior lead the way against an opponent led by Marcel Reed, who had 25 points and five 3-pointers - some of them from NBA range.
Peciulis has only one college offer (from the University of Illinois at Chicago), but Price - who as an assistant coach helped the Belmont University men win 144 games from 2011-18 - believes the Red Raiders standout will be more highly sought after soon.
"Al controlled the game at every level," Price said. "He's a solid perimeter shooter, a great mid-range scorer and makes his free throws. To go along with that he is an excellent passer and sees the game extremely well. UTC and Southern Illinois have come to see him four to five times already.
"The thing I love is he knows this season he has to be the guy we can turn to in big games."
Baylor (7-4) benefited from a big block by freshman Zane Restelli in the third quarter, and sophomore Zyziah Whaley scored 15 points and made a trio of 3-pointers along with Eli Sparkman, who had 13 points.
Despite being the first full week back for MBA (3-2), as some of their top players returned from football after losing to McCallie in the BlueCross Bowl at Finley Stadium on Dec. 3, the win for the Red Raiders was one they will proudly build on.
Bradley Central 50, Maplewood 44: Aiden McClary had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead the Bears (6-4) to victory. McClary was 7-of-11 from the field with a trio of 3-pointers.
On Friday, the Bears scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to break a 28-all tie and beat East Hamiton 50-38. McClary shot 6-of-9 while scoring 15 points. Cade Pendleton finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks for East Hamilton.
Soddy-Daisy 60, Bledsoe County 50: Shaun Pangle and Zack Ryans led the Trojans (8-4) to a semifinal victory in Sale Creek's Battle at the Creek tournament. The two combined for 14 points in a strong second quarter, and Ryans finished with a game-high 20 to go with 17 from Pangle. Bryson Reed also scored 12 in the victory. Bledsoe was led by Garrett Tharpe's 12 points.
East Ridge 70, Clarkrange 40: Tyree Smith broke out for 40 points as he made 16 field goals, five of them from beyond the arc. Smith scored 27 in the first half of the Battle at the Creek semifinal.
Calhoun 78, Lambert 69: Peyton Law, after scoring 25 points in a 73-67 loss to Mill Creek on Friday, had 29 as the Yellow Jackets won on day two of the Broncos Holiday Classic at East Forsyth High School. Emaree Winston added 17 points and Blaze Hammett 10 for Calhoun (3-3).
Northwest Whitfield 56, Coahulla Creek 52: Chandler Jackson had 16 points as the Bruins (7-2) won the nonregion game. Payton Baker added 10 points for Northwest, while Will Locke led Coahulla Creek with 14 points.
LFO 57, Heritage 45: Keenan Walker led three Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe scorers in double figures as the Warriors improved to 9-0 with the nonregion win over their Catoosa County rivals. Amari Burnett and Cameron Lay added 10 points each for LFO, while Kaleb Gallman topped Heritage's list with 12 points.
GIRLS
Sale Creek 64, Red Bank 5: Keilyn Morgan grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 10 first-half points to lead the Lady Panthers to a semifinal victory in the Battle at the Creek. Kayla Phillips had 10 rebounds for Sale Creek.
Soddy-Daisy 59, Bledsoe County 15: Jada Trimiar rattled off nine points on four made field goals in a 22-point third quarter for the Lady Trojans (7-4), who also received 13 points from Candyce Yother in a Battle at the Creek semifinal victory.
Whitwell 49, Silverdale Baptist Academy 29: Courtney Zensen scored 26 points for the Lady Tigers (8-4), who allowed just 15 points over the first three quarters in their home victory.
LFO 74, Heritage 25: The Lady Warriors improved to 9-0 with the nonregion win as Angel Simmons and Christina Collins had 12 points each in a third quarter in which LFO outscored Heritage 30-14. Simmons led the Lady Warriors with 22 points, with Collins adding 16, while Christen Collins had 12 and Ziara Thompson 10 for the winners.
Bradley Central 66, East Hamilton 41: Senior Karsee Weber put on a 3-point clinic, shooting 6-of-11 from that range to finish with a game-high 22 points for the Bearettes (10-0) on Friday. Bradley also received stellar play from Hannah Jones (14 points), Sloan Carpenter (11 points, seven rebounds, five assists), Ashlan Crittenden (five steals) and Erika Swick (three blocks). East Hamilton's Tristin Sutton scored 17 points while shooting 6-of-8 from the field and 5-for-5 from the foul line, while McKenna Hayes had 10 points.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon. Contact Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.