Behind a defensive performance that stymied St. Anne’s-Belfield’s leading scorer, and an extremely balanced attack from its senior starters, Blue Ridge took care of businees on their home court to the tune of a 58-44 win, keeping their perfect record untarnished.
When it wasn’t Malick Kone it was Cameron Anderson. When it wasn’t Anderson it was Isaiah Battle. When that wasn’t there the Barons had Chad Holley. All four seniors finished in double figures on Wednesday and finished with all but five of their team’s points in the victory.
Blue Ridge was able to build a solid lead in the first and second quarter, but it wasn’t until the third quarter that they truly took off. The Barons had their way in the third frame of the game, outscoring their visitors 14-4 to stretch out the 8-point gap at the break to 18 to start the fourth quarter. While the Saints were able to gain on Blue Ridge in the fourth quarter, there was simply no catching the top ranked VISAA Division 1 team.
Kone led all scorers on the night with 17 points. Anderson added 14. Holley hit three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Battle did most of the rest of the damage with his 10 points.
Blue Ridge’s defense managed to hold Kodie Critzer to six points, all of which came in the second half. Brett Johnson hit a quartet of 3-points to fuel his 14-point effort. Jordan Davis led STAB with 16 points and notched 10 points of his team’s 15 points in the second quarter.
The Saints (7-14) finish up the regular season on the road against Woodberry Forest on Friday at 5 p.m.
Blue Ridge (17-0) plays host to Kestrel Heights (NC) also on Friday at 5 p.m.
