Baylor beats McCallie for ninth straight time in basketball rivalry
The effort on one play Friday night showed beating McCallie on the basketball court is getting no less exciting for Baylor — and that the Red Raiders have no intention of letting their long winning streak in the series come to an easy end.
Despite a major size differential, Baylor senior Mantas Paldauskas soared from behind to deny 6-foot-7 Ryan Wingard an opportunity to grab momentum for the host Blue Tornado on a potential alley-oop dunk that could have tied the score late in the third quarter of the TSSA Division II-AA East Region showdown between Chattanooga rivals.
Paldauskas' heads-up defensive play and grit shone brightly in the Red Raiders' 53-46 win at McCallie, where he also blocked a shot by Ernas Valauskas, who did not score again after taking over the first quarter with all 11 of his points and a trio of 3-point makes — including a buzzer-beating bomb for an 18-15 lead.
The Red Raiders stretched their series winning streak to nine against McCallie as Baylor sophomore point guard Taheim Elohem scored a game-high 14 points, added four assists, then made a final statement by leaping in the corner to block a 3-point attempt in the closing moments.
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Elohem was strong going to the hoop and finishing with his dominant left hand, while his second 3-pointer helped Baylor (12-5, 1-1) build a 10-point lead by the end of the third quarter.
"We do a lot of studying before big region games like this," said Elohem, who stood out in his first prep season as a point guard for Memphis University School, where he averaged 10 points and four assists per game. "Coming into tonight, we knew what type of drivers and shooters McCallie had and how we had to play them defensively.
"This was a great way to start my Baylor-McCallie experience. I love it. I can't wait for the next one."
McCallie (15-6, 1-2) fought back in the fourth quarter as Pat Meyers provided energy on the defensive end with leaping stops, while Garrison White and Trell Knight hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 38-34.
Wingard provided a monster two-handed dunk off a slick spin move in the lane to cut the deficit to four once again, with the Blue Tornado trailing 42-38 with 3:31 left.
However, the Red Raiders answered with William Baker's 3 and Sixto's layup off a nice find by Elohem to build their advantage to 47-38 with less than two minutes remaining. Jake Neal, another sophomore, iced the game in the final minute with three free throws while also blocking a 3-point shot. Neal finished with 12 points.
"We played with a lot of energy to close out this win," Elohem said. "Our chemistry showed out there. When you have chemistry with your teammates, the game is way more fun. That's where we get our energy from — playing for one another. We are all going to compete until the very end."
Baylor has held McCallie to an average of just 45 points per game during it current series winning streak.
A midgame lull on the offensive end hurt McCallie this time. The Blue Tornado mustered 10 points combined in the second and third quarters Friday, while they scored 18 each in the first and fourth. Trell Knight scored 11 points and Wingard had 10 for McCallie, which is set to visit Baylor on Jan. 30 to complete the regular-season series.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
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