In the final two games of the second night of the 2024 Dr. Pepper Classic, a Chattanooga team would be playing in each game. Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in the first and McCallie in the second. Both teams would unfortunately lose their matchups with Hamilton Heights falling in overtime to Huntington Prep, 79-82, and McCallie losing to Sunrise Christian Academy 65-49. McCallie’s game was pretty one-sided, while Hamilton Heights nearly pulled off an unbelievable comeback win, but fell short right at the end.
Head coach of the Hamilton Heights Hawks Stephen Cook signaled a timeout at an official following the conclusion of a 14-2 run put up by the Huntington Prep Kings. A game that seemed to be all but theirs in the early goings of the contest, when the Hawks held a 15-6 lead in the first period, had now table topped into the Kings' favor. The 14-2 spurt by the Kings gave them a 20-point lead with just over 5 minutes left in the third at, 46-26.
“I told the guys that we needed to lock in on getting paint touches on offense to give our shooters more space to get open shots. I also told them to get three stops in a row and get back in the game,” said coach Cook on what he discussed with his players during his called timeout.
The suggested adjustments Cook gave his team were quickly made. Hamilton Heights would close out the third quarter on a 19-9 run, cutting the lead to a manageable 10 points going into the last quarter of the game. The momentum built by the Hawks in the third period tumbled into the fourth as they continued to chip away at the once 20-point Huntington Prep advantage.
Multiple players during this run stepped up for the Hawks. Guard Kevin de Kovachich started to find his shot by attacking the rim, Hawk’s sharp shooters Vito Perkovic and Bryson Andrews started dialing in their shots from deep, and 6-10 center Viktor Matic was now making an impact on the inside by scoring and rebounding. It was evident during this run how much quality depth Hamilton Heights has on their roster.
“We have five guys scoring double digits a game. It always allows us to do multiple things with this much talent,” said coach Cook on the benefits of having a deep roster.
Hamilton Heights, with 12.2 seconds remaining, trailed by two points at 66-68, and guard for Huntington Prep Malachi Payne stood at the line with two free throws that could make this game near over. He would go on to miss the first of the two and then would also miss the second. The Hawks would now have a chance to tie the game or take the lead. Kamai Samuels, guard for the Hawks, would race down the court and finesse in a layup off the left side of the glass to tie the game at 68 apiece. The Knights would then come down the court with a few ticks left and miss a game-winning corner three, which would put the two teams’ fates' in the hands of overtime.
Huntington would be the ones to come out victorious in the extra time, making the Hawks’ 20-point comeback nothing more than a dream. Coach Cook boiled it down to one thing that could have made his team’s comeback a reality.
“Make free throws. You can’t win missing 14 free throws.”
The Hawks’ loss to Huntington Prep would mark just their fourth defeat of the season.
McCallie in the following game seemed on track to make their game against Sunrise Christian Academy competitive, garnering an early 8-6 lead in the first, but Sunrise would quickly regain the reins of the contest. The Buffaloes would swiftly erase the Blue Tornado lead and walk into their locker room with a 38-23 lead.
The Buffs would cruise comfortably the rest of the way in their 65-49 win. Their size proved to be too much for McCallie to handle, with five players standing 6-8 and over. However, Kaleb Gallman, a senior wing for the Blue Tornado, proved that his jump shot was still lethal even with towering defenders in front of him. Gallman would finish as the game-high scorer with 17 points.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 13 11 21 23 11 -- 59
HUNTINGTON PREP 6 26 23 13 14 -- 67
HAMILTON HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (59) - Kevin de Kovachich 12, Bryson
Andrews 17, Kamai Samuels 13, Munyika 2, Vito Perkovic 12, Viktor Mikic 11, Yusuf 5,
Richards Jr. 5
HUNTINGTON PREP (67) - Kuany 4, Anthony Gilkes 16, Ken Giles 23, Micah Tucker 21,
Kabera 2, Malachi Payne 11, Tingler 5
3-point goals: Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 9 (Andrews 4, Perkovic 4, Richards Jr.);
Huntington Prep 7 (Gilkes 3, Giles, Tucker, Payne, Tingler)
Records: Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, 20-4; 0-0 Huntington Prep 7-8, 0-0.
SUNRISE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 15 23 15 12 -- 65
MCCALLIE 12 11 13 13 -- 49
SUNRISE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (65) - Williams 4, Muurinen 6, David Castillo 16,
Spencer Ahrens 11, Franck Belibi Jr., Kany Tchanda 11
MCCALLIE (49) - Levitt 2, Kwasigroch 5, Kennebrew 9, Kaleb Gallman 17, Wingard 2,
Knight 3, Kenneth Chime 11
3-point goals: Sunrise Christian Academy 7 (Castillo 3, Belibi Jr. 3, Muurinen); McCallie 6
(Gallman 4, Kwasigroch, Knight)
Records: Sunrise Christian Academy, 25-2; 7-0 1-4 McCallie 15-7, 1-4.