St. Anne’s-Belfield boys basketball might have gotten caught looking ahead Wednesday afternoon with a huge top-six matchup looming Friday against St. Christopher’s for the No. 3-ranked Saints.
But with a gritty Fork Union team in town, the Saints made sure they took care of business, rolling 76-45 with a balanced scoring effort.
The Saints’ smothering defense helped STAB jump out to a 19-4 lead in the first quarter, with a pair of Chance Mallory 3-pointers leading the way. Mallory finished with 15 points on the night while also dishing out seven assists, nabbing three steals and grabbing five boards.
By halftime, STAB was up 43-19 and Austin Wiliford had hit two threes of his own while Connor Lyons and Axel Iturbe had also connected from beyond the arc.
Danzelle Bullock-Coles finished with 13 points and tw steals for the Saints and Lyons notched 10 points. Lyons also had four boards, two assists and two blocks. Haoxiang Huang scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, with seven of those coming in the fourth quarter. Jayden Brown chipped in eight points.
Alexander Abron led Fork Union with 11 points on the night and Tyler Manglicmot had 10 points. Tyler Ackenbom chipped in nine points and Ceeja Nelson had eight.
The Saints, ranked No. 3 in the state in the most recent VISAA D1 poll, will square off with the No.6-ranked St. Christopher’s squad that beat a John Marshall team that beat STAB back in mid-December on Friday night. Fork Union, meanwhile, hosts Woodberry Forest Friday night.
