PETERSBURG — At Virginia State University in front of a relatively sparse crowd, two of the state’s best teams took the floor against one another for the third and final time this season. And while the VISAA Division 1 semifinal between Miller and Blue Ridge did not have the fireworks of the previous two meetings, it still had its moments as the Barons thwarted a second half comeback from the Mavericks to advance to the title game, 69-51.
“It’s only the semifinals,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey. “But beating Miller and getting the game in that rubber match, that was huge for us.”
Ramsey’s team got out to a great start as a redhot Malick Kone and Kameron LaTouche were able to quickly assemble a 12-point lead in the first quarter.
But although Miller got off to a slow start and watched Mychal Parker get into early foul trouble, the Mavericks were able trim the difference down eight points by the end of the first half.
“I was proud of our bench,” Willard said. “With Mychal in foul trouble we were in a tight spot but our bench came in and got us back in that game.”
As Miller’s defense started to draw charges and force other various turnovers, on the other end of the court Preston Terrell was able to whittle away at the lead. The 8-point lead Blue Ridge started with in at the beginning of the second half was just a 2-point lead by the end of the third quarter when De’Andre Corbin nailed a buzzer beating halfcourt shot. A minute into the fourth quarter, Terrell put Miller within one point.
“I was a little worried about those first 10 minutes of the second half,” Ramsey said.
However, Kone and Darnell Turner would put their coach’s worries to rest as the tandem went on a tear, piecing together a 15-1 run to reassume a double-digit lead. With Kone hitting his outside shots, the Miller defense swung out to contest, and the junior was able make sure he found the senior center underneath the basket for easy layups.
“I just needed two to three dribbles,” Kone said. “I could get them on me and I told Darnell to keep moving in closer to the hoop and that I would find him.”
The Mavericks turned to three point shots in the final two minutes of play, but could not get anything to fall, and with the game well in hand, Blue Ridge was able to run out the clock.
“We just knew we had to dig down deep and keep playing because we’ve been in this situation,” Turner said of fight off the second half comeback effort. “It was getting kind of old losing to Miller. We had to get them back.”
Kone led all scorers with 24 points while Turner chipped in 10. The center also led the team in rebounding with nine boards. LaTouche and Cameron Anderson both finished with nine points.
The Barons will play Bishop O’Connell today for the state title at Virginia State University at 5:30 p.m.
Terrell led the way for Miller with his 15-point game. Hippolyte Tsafack finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Parker contributed 10 points.
The loss ends the storied high school careers of Parker, Tsafack, Kofane, Terrell and Corbin, and while that may sting right now, Willard is confident that his team will reflect fondly on their days in teel.
“This particular group, it’s incredible,” Willard said. “Three straight conference championships, a Division 2 state title, a Division 1 final four in our first year… There are six seniors and they’ve done amazing things at the Miller School and today will be a tough pill to swallow, but I think when they look at the body of work at Miller they can really be proud.”
