Behind an explosive second half effort from Mamadi Diakite Friday afternoon, Blue Ridge’s boys basketball team pulled away from Carlisle for a 65-55 win in the VISAA Division II semifinal at Virginia State University.
Diakite scored 14 second half points as part of a 21-point effort to push the Barons into the title game where they’ll play Virginia Episcopal for a state championship.
Blue Ridge took care of business as a team at the free throw line, going 23 of 26 at the charity stripe against the Indians. That helped Blue Ridge hold off Carlisle who trailed by just four points going into the third quarter.
Scott Spencer and Malik Johnson scored 13 points each on the night while Josh Colon finished with seven and Jemeil King had four.
Quentin Jackson led Carlisle with 16 points, 12 of which came in the fourth quarter. Ian Steere finished with 14 and Kaleb Johnson notched 10 for the Indians.
The Barons will face VES at 2 p.m. Saturday in the state final.
