Tornado repeat title; Calvin scores 28

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo McCallie's Jamaal Calvin (12) drives past Baylor defenders during the championship final of the Best of Preps basketball tournament Saturday at Chattanooga State.

McCALLIE 63, BAYLOR 57Baylor 15 16 14 12 -- 57McCallie 16 17 12 18 -- 63Baylor (57) -- Clay Born 14, Matt Clendenen 18, Maum 2, Upshaw 8, Lupas 4, Bowens 6, Linehart 1, Seaberg 4.McCallie (63) -- Fritz 4, Jorden Williams 12, Jacobs 7, Jamaal Calvin 28, Couch 2, Alford, Alex Clark 10.3-point goals: Baylor 6 (Born 2, Bowens 2, Clendenen, Upshaw); McCallie 8 (Calvin 6, Williams 2). Other highlights: Clendenen 10 r; Born 4a; Gage Upshaw 3 a (B). Nick Jacobs 9 r; Calvin 4 s (M). Records: McCallie 6-4; Baylor 7-3.

photo Boys Bracket

With about five minutes remaining in the Times Free Press Best of Preps boys' championship game Saturday night, McCallie guard Jamaal Calvin told himself that no one - not rival Baylor, not officials, not anybody - was going to take the game away from the Blue Tornado.

Calvin scored 28 points, 10 in the final 4:26, as the Blue Tornado ended the game on a 13-2 run and repeated their title with a 63-57 victory at Chattanooga State.

Calvin gave his team the lead for good with a 3-pointer from 30 feet out in transition with 3:24 remaining. He finished 6-for-12 from 3-point range and added four steals.

"It's nice to know that I can just let it go," he said. "I like taking that shot, but I knew how Baylor's defense was once you got around the arc, so I pulled when I saw an opportunity."

McCallie's Jorden Williams added 12 points, while Alex Clark had 10 in his first varsity game. Nick Jacobs added nine rebounds as the team's interior players -- Clark, Jacobs and Davis Couch -- continued their improved play.

"Baylor's a great team, though," Calvin said. "I don't know what we'll do when they get Reggie [Upshaw] back."

Besides the injured senior forward, Baylor was missing Amedeo Giussani, who is in Switzerland for the holidays.

Matt Clendenen had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Clay Born added 14 points for the Red Raiders, who twice went on second-half runs to take leads. The second half began with a 9-1 Baylor run and the fourth quarter started with a 10-5 spurt. Both runs were answered by McCallie.

"We lost [Calvin] twice in transition," Baylor coach Austin Clark said. "We made a couple of turnovers down the stretch; then we lost him in transition and he made us pay. Then once they spread the floor, it's not what we do because we don't chase well.

"I thought we had opportunities to win the game, but they were the better team."

McCallie hit four 3s in the first quarter, then started to find holes in the Baylor zone in the second period. Baylor's Born had eight points in the first half, with two 3s, while Clendenen scored six.

Calvin had 11 and Williams 10 in the first half.

"Baylor picked us apart at times offensively. We were just happy to have Jamaal in the fourth quarter; he hit some deep 3s," McCallie coach Dan Wadley said. "The whole team played well, though. We were shorthanded and all eight players played, but they all bought into their roles."