The McCallie Blue Tornado stormed into the home gymnasium of the Boyd Buchanan Buccaneers Tuesday night, as the two teams would engage in an early-season thriller. Both teams came into the matchup rather hot, with McCallie walking in with a record of 2-0, and Boyd holding a respectable record of 2-1. The two teams would go back and forth throughout the whole game, with multiple players combining for a fireworks display of big plays down the stretch. However, it would be the Blue Tornado setting off the last couple of sparks as they would go on to win, 51-46.
With just over five minutes remaining the team playing in their home arena, the Boyd Buchanan Buccaneers, trailed by four. The Bucs struggled to get anything going offensively in the late minutes of the game, especially at the rim. And there was a big reason for that.
The reason for Boyd’s trouble generating any sort of offense at the rim stood in the shoes of the six-foot-ten-inch senior, Kenneth Chime. Chime played the role of “the eraser” for McCallie as if any of his teammates made a wrong move allowing a Buc into the paint, he was there to erase their error away, by either blocking their shot or heavily contesting it. Chime’s presence alone made the slight lead that McCallie held at four points feel much greater. Buchanan needed someone to generate offense and do so fast as the clock continually ticked away. And they would get that someone in sophomore big man, Caleb Hardaway.
Boyd Buchanan's guard, Garrison White, would cut the lead to two points, at 42-44, with a pair of free throws with 4:17 on the clock. Two minutes would then go by as neither of the two teams could buy a bucket. A loose ball scramble would ensue with just over two minutes remaining with the ball eventually finding its way out of bounds. The refs would then point the possession in favor of Boyd, and the head coach of the Buccaneers, Kenneth White, would call a full timeout and go to his whiteboard to try to draw up a game-tying play.
The big man Hardaway would be on the receiving end of the possession following the timeout. He would catch the ball in the paint, bend his legs, and rise up to the rim. Hardaway would unleash a rim-rattling dunk to tie the game at, 44-44, with 2:08 remaining. The gym was shaking as McCallie raced down the floor to try to claim back their lead.
The leading scorer for the Blue Tornado, Kaleb Gallman, would curl around the elbow and get his team the lead back with a silky-smooth elbow jumper. It was a shot that settled the screws of the gym back into place, as the Boyd Buchanan faithful watched on with their team down two points again. Gallman would finish as the game-high scorer, with 17 points.
Hardaway would make another impactful play as he would get a tip-in bucket to set the score straight yet, again, but this effort play from the sophomore would end up being the last gasp for the Buccaneers. A layup, some late-game free throws, and a couple more missed shots from the opposing Buccaneers would swing this thriller in McCallie’s favor.
The two teams both showed great promise Tuesday night, but a common basketball cliche bled true in this one giving the Blue Tornado the win. Free throws and defense win basketball games.
SUMMARY
MCCALLIE 6 19 15 11 -- 51
BOYD BUCHANAN 9 18 10 9 -- 46
MCCALLIE (51) - Kennebrew 2, Kaleb Gallman 17, Parker Robinson 13, Knight 2, Chime 9, Wingoerd 8
BOYD BUCHANAN (46) - White 9, Reid 4, Turnbow 2, Eli Gardenhire 16, Caleb Hardaway 13, Fortune 2
3-point goals: McCallie 5 (Gallman 3, Robinson 2); Boyd Buchanan 3 (Gardenhire 2, White)
Records: McCallie 3-0, 0-0; Boyd Buchanan 2-2, 0-0.
(Email Gray Deyo at sports@chattanoogan.com)