Zane Restelli Scores 23 As Red Raiders Snap Losing Streak
The Baylor Red Raiders had gotten off to a great start in basketball with three straight wins in Quinn McDowell's first year as the head coach, but had hit a little bump in the road with four straight losses prior to Saturday night's game with Signal Mountain.
Things are just a bit better for the Red Raiders as they withstood a slow start to completely throttle the Eagles as Baylor evened its record with a convincing 77-44 victory at the Duke Arena/Austin Clark Court.
Signal Mountain is now 4-4 as well following Saturday's setback.
The Baylor girls also had a positive experience with a 52-24 win over the Lady Eagles, but the real winner was the Forgotten Child's Fund. Coats and toys took the place of a gate admission, so in the real spirit of the Christmas season fans and supporters from both communities made it a heart-warming experience.
It's really a no-win situation for any public school that plays private schools like Baylor as the Red Raiders recruit from all over the world literally while teams like Signal Mountain play with youngsters in their particular zone.
It wasn't the start that the Red Raiders wanted, but McDowell was just glad that his guys were able to turn the tide in time to get a big non-district win.
"Our energy improved as the game went on, but we weren't ready to play when the game started," he began while sitting in the friendly confines of his office following the game.
"I thought we played okay in spots, but we're still too inconsistent. We just have to compete, but it's all about the process where we continue to learn and get better. It always feels good to get a win, but Signal Mountain and Baylor have a great sense of community and they showed that tonight," the first year leader added.
Signal Mountain coach Steve Redman was quick to admit that his team really didn't benefit from a game like was played, but he's all about doing something to support a good cause and that was the best result from his side.
"That was frustrating. We just quit running our sets. I'm not even close to pleased with the way we played. I challenged them a little bit at the half and we got after it in the third, but there's no room for error when you play a team like Baylor.
"It was a chance for kids who are good friends with each other to play and it was all for a good cause, but it wasn't a lot of fun," he added with a serious look on his face.
The Eagles got back-to-back layups from J.B. Zimmerman and then buckets from Pelham Shoemate and Christian Thompson for a surprising 8-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest, but it was all Baylor the rest of the way as a 13-0 run gave the hosts a 13-8 lead before Chris Kennedy scored on a reverse layup in the final minute to trim Baylor's lead to 13-10 when the first quarter ended.
Zimmerman sank the second of two free throws with 5:54 left in the half to make it 17-11, but by the time the 6-1 junior made two more charity tosses at the 2:17 mark, Baylor had enjoyed another 13-0 run and were well on their way to another win.
Zimmerman and Max Rackel both sank 3s to start the second half, but Pelham Shoemate was the only Eagle to sink a field goal as the Eagles did most of their scoring from the free throw line where they sank 12 of 14 shots.
And while Signal had a 20-18 advantage in that particular eight-minute span, it never got any closer as subs from both teams played most of the fourth quarter.
Perhaps the biggest cheer of the evening came in the final minute when slender sophomore Jaxson Simpson swished a pair of 3s for the biggest lead of the game at 33 points when the final horn sounded.
Zane Restelli scored 23 points to lead all scorers for Baylor and was joined by Kevin Sacas and Bolton Born in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Zimmerman topped the Eagles with a dozen points while Kennedy was next with 10 and Rackel with eight.
Ezra Sixto grabbed seven rebounds and Restelli six as Baylor had an unofficial 26-12 advantage in rebounds. Christian Thompson had four to lead Signal.
Baylor Rallies To Defeat Signal Mountain, 77-44 - Chattanoogan.com
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