Balanced Baylor Rolls Past Chattanooga Christian

Baylor basketball coach Mark Price knew that making a tough early season schedule would only benefit his team in the long run and he was exactly right.

The Red Raiders have lost three games this season, all to nationally-ranked out-of-state teams. And those early losses have been paying huge dividends so far.

And they’ve won two tough road games in region play since the Christmas break to go 3-0 in region play and 14-3 overall.

The Red Raiders made it five wins in a row Tuesday night at Chattanooga Christian’s Bosworth Gymnasium in the most intense 28-point win that this writer has ever witnessed.

It was a battle from start to finish as both teams battled for every rebound and every loose ball. You would have thought it was a nip-and-tuck one-point affair, but the guys in gray made sure it wasn’t close after the Chargers got to within four points at intermission.

“I’m really proud of my guys for pulling out another big region win on the road. Chattanooga Christian has a really good team with a lot of firepower. We didn’t have a good second quarter and they made it closer, but we came out and had a much better third quarter and that was the difference in the game,” Price said following the game.

“We haven’t played in the past 10 days because of the weather and that can be tough, but we had some really good practices during that break and I felt like we played with a lot of confidence tonight.

“We were able to regroup at the half, but our goal was to stay focused and that’s what we did,” he added, knowing that he has another big game on Friday when they host McCallie.

Chattanooga Christian coach Wes Moore liked the effort he got from his guys, just not the final result.

“We picked the wrong night to have a bad night shooting the basketball,” he said after it ended.

“Baylor shot the ball really well and we didn’t do anything to stop their runs. Baylor is a very talented team and I’m pleased that we battled the entire game. Now it’s on to the next one as we have to get ready for Webb,” Moore nodded.

Dre Jackson may be the best basketball player in the Chattanooga area. He scored 38 points on Friday night when his team knocked off McCallie. He scored 34 on Tuesday night against Baylor, but had nothing in support and what had been a close game in the first half turned into a blowout.

The Red Raiders scored the first six points and extended that difference to 21-8 when the first quarter ended.

Jack Shutters scored on a putback to start the second quarter for a 15-point lead, but the Chargers turned up the intensity and finished the quarter on a 20-9 run to get within 32-28 at intermission.

Jackson sank two free throws with 36.4 seconds left to put his team within two at 30-28 before Kevin Sacas scored a few seconds to send the two teams into halftime with the score still close.

The Chargers never got any closer as Baylor scored 53 points in the second half to win going away.

While Jackson led CCS with his 34, Reid Conley was the only other teammate in double figures as he finished with 10. Nobody else had more than five points.

Nyzaiah Whaley finished with 17 points to lead Baylor and he had three teammates also in double figures. Zane Restelli and Sacas both added 16 while Shutters finished with 14.

The taller Baylor squad also had an unofficial 36-25 advantage in rebounds as Sacas snagged 14 and Restelli seven. Jackson topped CCS with eight while Jermaine Stinson and Caiden Baldwin claimed six each.

Baylor is now 14-3 overall and 3-0 in region play and will face McCallie at home on Friday. Chattanooga Christian is now 12-7 overall and 1-2 in region play and will host Webb o Friday.

CCS GIRLS 65, BAYLOR 54: It’s a pretty good bet there’s not a girls team around that can contain Momo Moore and Aubriyana Camp. Moore is just an eighth grader and Camp a freshman and they can put points on the board in a hurry. They are both quick as lightning and can shoot the ball well from any spot on the court.

That was the case in Tuesday’s game where these two combined for 53 points as the Lady Chargers improved to 14-5 overall and 2-1 in region play with the 11-point win.

Moore finished with 32 and Camp with 21 as the Lady Chargers got off to a good start and never looked back.

Riley Oleksik scored 17 points to lead Baylor while younger sister Rory chipped in with 13 and Xahara Willis 11, but the Baylor girls simply had no answer for Moore and Camp.

GIRLS SUMMARY

BAYLOR	9	13	18	19	-- 54
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN	18	16	13	18	--65

BAYLOR (54) – Riley Oleksik 17, Snyder 6, Xahara Willis 11, Rory Oleksik 13, Merritt 7, Watson, Carico, Moore.

CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (65) – Aubriyana Camp 21, Allen 4, Wiechmann 2, Duble, Momo Moore 32, A. Matthews, E. Matthews 1, Hatten 2, Rainey 4.

3-Point Goals: Baylor 7 (Riley Oleksik 2, Rory Oleksik 3, Snyder, Willis); Chattanooga Christian 4 (Camp 2, Moore 2).

BOYS SUMMARY

BAYLOR	21	11	26	27	-- 85
CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN	8	20	17	12	--57

BAYLOR (85) – Barton 3, Nyzaiah Whaley 17, Fields 6, Ba. Born, K. Whaley, Sixto, Bo. Born 9, Jack Shutters 14, Smith 4, Kevin Sacas 16, Zane Restelli 16.

CHATTANOOGA CHRISTIAN (57) – Reid Conley 10, Dre Jackson 34, Wescher 5, Russell 3, Roddy 1, Lyons, Duble, Stinson 2, Deloach, Baldwin.

3-Point Goals: Baylor 5 (Barton, Fields, Smith, Sacas, Restelli); Chattanooga Christian 4 (Conley 2, Jackson, Russell).

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)