Shutters opens, closes well as Baylor sweeps past McCallie
Jack Shutters, a 6-foot-9 left-handed shooter, stepped up in a big way Friday night to help Baylor complete a special three-game regular-season sweep of McCallie.
The Red Raiders junior scored nine points during the first quarter and was also strong at the finish, setting the tone and sealing the deal to help his team to a 54-46 road victory in the latest meeting between the Chattanooga and Division II-AA East Region rivals.
Shutters used his substantial wingspan to reach over a defender for one of his three offensive rebounds in the first quarter and score the game’s first basket. What the dominant post player did with the ball not in his hands also was crucial to helping the visitors open up driving lanes to close the game out in the fourth quarter.
“Any time we went to Jack inside, it was almost a guaranteed basket,” Baylor coach Mark Price said. “Even when he didn’t score the ball, he did all the little things: screen, post hard and command help so other guys could get great looks. He impacted the game tremendously and did a great job defensively to keep himself on the floor against McCallie’s smaller lineup.”
With Shutters drawing extra attention early, sophomore Baylor guard Brock Barton was provided a great 3-point look from the left corner, and he knocked down the shot for a 14-2 lead to force a McCallie timeout. At the end of the first quarter, Barton’s assist repaid Shutters, whose basket provided a 16-7 early lead.
“This is such a great rivalry and such a fun game to play,” Shutters said. “On the court, it’s a battle. When we are off the court, though, we are all friends. But all in all, we are trying to win a region championship for Coach Price. We want one of those and are getting closer and
closer to our goals every day.”
The Red Raiders improved to 14-6 overall and 4-1 in the region, where they’re second behind Knoxville Catholic, with Knoxville Webb third.
McCallie (8-13, 1-5) was resilient in cutting its deficit to 26-23 at halftime. Senior guard Kollin Claridy had a vicious dunk after driving down the left baseline and finished the game with a team-high 15 points.
The Blue Tornado took their only lead when junior point guard Parker Robison showcased his shooting touch on a 3 that bounced off the front of the rim and the backboard before going, providing a 32-29 advantage nearly halfway through the third quarter. Robison finished with 13 points.
However, no defender had an answer for Zane Restelli down the stretch as the Baylor sophomore locked in with tough drive after tough drive to the hoop.
The 6-foot-4 Restelli used several screens from Shutters to showcase his explosive burst while scoring 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, and a dozen of those points came in the fourth quarter. He was joined in double figures with 13 from Shutters and 11 from Nyziah Whaley.
“Zane is something special,” Shutters said. “He is so hard to guard when he is on. He gets in that mindset, and you just let him cook.”
Baylor was the winner, 54-52, when McCallie visited on Jan. 20, and the Red Raiders secured a tournament title by topping the Blue Tornado 45-35 in the Times Free Press Best of Preps final on Dec. 30 at Chattanooga State.
“To beat McCallie three times in the same year is pretty substantial, but it was more substantial that it was another region win,” Price said. “This was a key region win we picked up tonight. The guys did a great job of not letting this rivalry get the best of them, and we got even better tonight.”