McCallie Blue Tornado return to BOP final

photo The Best of Preps logo.

McCALLIE 67, OOLTEWAH 56McCallie 14 7 21 25 - 67Ooltewah 16 13 12 15 - 56McCallie (67) - Fritz 5, Jorden Williams 21, Jacobs 8, Jamaal Calvin 27, Hobbs 4, Alford, Clark, Crouch 2.Ooltewah (56) - Jackson 8, Jacqueze Robinson 23, Ware 8, Snider 8, Presley 6, Boyd, Maston 3.3-point goals: McCallie 7 (Williams 3, Calvin 3, Fritz); Ooltewah 8 (Robinson 5, Presley 2, Maston). Other highlights: Calvin 9 r; Zak Hobbs 8 r; Williams, Nick Jacobs each 6 r (M); Robinson 4 a, 4 s; Ware 10 r (O). Records: McCallie 5-4; Ooltewah 10-3.

photo Boys Bracket

McCallie coach Dan Wadley kept calling a play called "Four" through the final quarter of the Times Free Press Best of Preps semifinal matchup against Ooltewah.

It was a smart decision, because there were four hands that the ball seemed pretty comfortable in -- the sets belonging to Jamaal Calvin and Jorden Williams.

The two combined for 48 points, and the Blue Tornado went on a 20-6 run in the final 5:56 to advance to tonight's championship game with a 67-56 victory over Ooltewah.

Defending champion McCallie (5-4) will face Baylor for the title, starting at 8:30.

Both Calvin and Williams said the team has felt a level of disrespect all season, since it lost three NCAA Division I players from last season.

"We want to prove a point that we can still play with everybody," Williams said. "People disrespect us all the time, but we use it as fuel and get mad because people think we're not good.

"Today feel came out and proved a point -- that we can still compete."

Added Calvin, who had 27 points: "We are the defending champs. People were talking that Ooltewah was the best team in Chatt, but tonight wasn't just about one person. We all played hard."

Role players played a huge role for the Blue Tornado as well. Junior guard C.J. Fritz hit two big shots, while Nick Jacobs and Zak Hobbs worked hard inside, combining for 12 points and 14 rebounds. The team shot 60 percent in the second half.

"I feel good about the ball being in their hands," Wadley said of his three guards. "Once we started attacking, that was the difference.

"And it's good to have two senior guards that wanted to win this game."

The Owls (10-3) took a 29-21 lead into the break, fueled by the hot shooting of Jacqueze Robinson. The junior guard finished with 23 points -- 10 in the first quarter and 15 by halftime. The Tornado were forced to a zone due to early foul trouble, but after experiencing some success, they stuck with it for most of the final 16 minutes.

Ooltewah was 9-for-25 in the second half and 3-for-13 from 3-point range, after hitting 5-for-12 in the first half.

"We missed about two or three layups in a row and about three or four free throws," Ooltewah coach Jesse Nayadley said. "They tied the game up and their confidence got high; it certainly wasn't our most focused game.

"I feel good about seeing a zone because we have shooters, but more than anything we lost our focus on defense and gave up too many easy baskets."

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