It’s hard to say whether it was a better rebound or shot. With his team trailing by a basket and the clock winding down, Darryl Smith somehow reached into the mess underneath the hoop and grabbed the rebound after teammate Chad Holley just missed on a highly contested layup. And somehow Smith also managed to put enough loft on his shot to get up and over 6-foot-11 center Will Simonton attempting to block the shot.
Smith’s shot passed through the net, and unbeaten Blue Ridge forced overtime after overcoming a double-digit deficit in the second half. In overtime, the Barons took a one possession lead early, and in the last minute of play they got a chance to add to it as Fishburne Military School’s post graduate team struggled from the field and was forced to foul.
Blue Ridge came into the game as the top ranked VISAA Division 1 school with an unblemished record. Despite facing a post graduate team with nine college committed players, the Barons kept their pristine record intact with a 63-57 win.
“In the final four, those are the types of teams you play,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey of playing up to the post graduate level. “That’s a great win for us against a really tough team.”
Playing by collegiate rules minus the 35-second shot clock, the Barons were up against the wall with eight minutes to play as they trailed by 10 points and had not been out in front of the Caissons since the opening minutes of the first half.
After a period of struggling to hit short shots and layups, Blue Ridge went to work on digging out of the hole as Holley, Cameron Anderson and Malick Kone all his shots to chip away at the deficit. After back-to-back baskets from Kone with three minutes to play, the margin was just one lone point. With a minute left on the clock, an Isaiah Battle free throw locked the game up at fifty.
“We were patient,” Ramsey said. “There’s no 10-point play. We stacked together a few stops and then put it together. I think the guys played loose because they were playing a PG team.”
But a foul with just under thirty seconds gave Fisburne back the lead as Justin Burrell knocked down a pair of free throws. That set up Blue Ridge’s last possession of regulation where Holley came up just short, but Smith was there to finish the job.
Once in overtime, the Barons seized control. After taking a 2-point lead on Kone’s last basket of the game, it was all free throws from then on out with Holley and Andre Roberts doing the shooting. The two did not disappoint and Blue Ridge was able to close out the comeback.
“That’s the toughest game we’ve played,” Kone said. “That was the hardest win so far.”
Kone had a monster game with 26 points and nine rebounds. And were it not for his play to open the game, the Barons would have been in serious trouble, but Kone was irked before tipoff to ensure he had a strong start.
“Before the game their players would not come over and shake hands,” Kone said. “I took that as disrespect. Before the game I told my teammates, ‘Let’s show them what respect is.’ I think I came out a little pumped up to start the game.”
Kone couldn’t miss in the early going, which was a good thing, because he was his team’s only source offense for the first five minutes. While Kone scored all 10 of his team’s first points, Fishburne jumped out to a 5-point lead. The rest of the first half played out in a see-saw battle with neither team making a big jump — Fishburne never lead by more than five and Blue Ridge never got closer than to within three points.
Burrell, Tabb Hamilton and KC Whitaker opened the game up in the second have for the Caissons as they hit long range jumpers and peppered in a few easy finishes underneath to give their team the 10-point lead in the second half. But a tough night at the free throw line and more than a handful of missed layups kept Fishburne from running away for good.
“The execution was horrible tonight, but I’m going to take responsibility for that because I thought we were more prepared than this,” said Caissons coach Ed Huckaby. “We lost to a team that, talent wise, we’re better than. But they out-coached us, out-hustled us, out-executed us and just wanted it more. Bill Ramsey did an outstanding job of having his guys ready to play and they hung in there when we jumped on them and didn’t panic. That’s why I have the utmost respect for him – he is a heck of a coach, but more importantly, a great mentor.”
For Fishburne, Burrell had 13 points, as did Hamilton. Whitaker added 11 points.
Anderson also had a big day for the Barons with his double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Holley added 13 points, three steals and four assists. And while Isaiah Battle had a tough day from the field, he still chipped in nine rebounds.
Fishburne (14-6) will play in the St. John’s tournament beginning Friday at 2 p.m.
Blue Ridge (14-0) goes on a one week break before playing host Liberty Christian on February 1st.
