With 20 seconds left in the first half of Friday night's game at McCallie, Baylor finally surrendered its first field goal as Christian Lawhorn made a 3-point basket for the hosts.
The Red Raiders made driving into the paint virtually impossible early for the Blue Tornado, who were denied continuously from scoring at or around the rim.
Meanwhile, Baylor senior Bolton Born was strong on the attack from the start as he helped lead the way to a 49-40 victory in TSSAA Division II-AA East Region play and the eighth straight win in the series between Chattanooga rivals. The Red Raiders completed a sweep of the regular-season series two weeks after a 73-53 home win.
"We were very connected," said Born, whose strong drive down the left side of the lane built a 20-3 lead with 3:26 to play before halftime as he scored seven first-half points. "Our guys all stepped up defensively early, and we were in the gaps well to where they couldn't get easy drives. To hold them to eight points in the first half was a great team effort."
The last time McCallie defeated Baylor was Jan. 14, 2022, when Kollin Claridy had 21 points in the Blue Tornado's 55-46 home victory.
While the first half did not go as planned for the Blue Tornado (11-11, 1-3), they had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 45 seconds left to play after a steal by eighth grader Jarris Walker provided a good look at the basket but to no avail while trailing 43-38.
Trell Knight was a force in the second half as the Blue Tornado junior had four trips to the foul line after baskets and drilled a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Knight scored all 11 of his points in the second half, when classmate Deshun Tipton scored all 10 of his points.
Baylor senior star point guard Zane Restelli led all scorers with 14 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, including one from 25 feet. He had compiled 23 points, six assists, six rebounds, a trio of 3-pointers and a blocked shot in the season's first meeting with McCallie.
In the rematch, Restelli also had five assists, which included a nice bounce pass in the lane to 6-foot-7 senior Kevin Sacas for an authoritative finish on his second and final dunk in a nine-point performance. Sacas and Restelli also provided big blocks in a minute span during the fourth quarter.
The Red Raiders (11-9, 3-2) got a pair of clutch 3-pointers from senior Luke Smith, who also drew an offensive charge early in the first quarter.
"This was a complete team effort in a big rivalry game," said Born, who provided strong rebounding and defense to go with his 11 points. "Zane continues to play really well, and everyone stepped up in their own way.
"Eight straight wins over them is awesome. We hope it doesn't stop here either."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
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