Scrimmage Play correspondent Delaney White contributed to this report.
Blue Ridge boys basketball knew it was walking into probably the most hostile environment the Barons will play in this year.
A loud, crowded Miller School gym that the most seasoned Barons had been in most recently as sopohmores back in early 2020 but most of the roster had never experienced.
Miller’s gym can be an equalizer and the No. 1-ranked Barons had to overcome the crowd and an improved effort by the No. 3-ranked Mavericks in the regular season rematch Tuesday night to pull out a 67-56 victory and complete a regular season sweep of the rivalry.
“We knew this was a big game coming in here, we knew they were going to have a tough crowd,” said Blue Ridge’s Maliq Brown. “We knew all week we had to lock in for this game, we knew they were going to bring it all.”
Brown and frontcourt mate Houston Emory were a huge reason Blue Ridge got the job done, dominating on the boards with each posting monster double doubles. Emory went for 15 points and 14 rebounds while Brown put up 14 points and 16 boards. Emory in particular cranked things up in the second half, scoring 13 of his 15 after the break.
“When you have two senior bigs that have played as many games as Houston and Maliq have played (it’s an advantage),” said Blue Ridge coach Cade Lemcke. “That they play off of each other so well, when they were aggressive as passers, aggressive as finishers, it’s really hard to stop them without fouling them.”
Blue Ridge didn’t get quite the fast start they got in the first installment of this matchup as Miller played significantly better than the first time around and trailed just five at the break after a solid second quarter where they knocked down four 3-pointers as a team, with Jacob Rice, Ethan DeLaurier, Eli DeLaurier and Jacob Bonde all connected from beyond the arc. The Mavericks played Blue Ridge even in the third, but in the fourth, Emory, Cam Brewer (who finished with 11) and Robby Matos (nine points, four assists, four steals) all stepped up.
“We have a lot of respect for Miller School they’re one of the best programs in the state,” Cade said. “We were fortunate to have some things bounce our way at our place so we knew coming back home they were going to be intense — they were going to be ready.”
Jordan Horne led Miller’s offensive effort with 19 points, two boards and two assists while Ball scored nine points and Ethan DeLaurier finished with eight points and five boards.
Blue Ridge’s Devin Walker finished with five points, three assists and three rebounds while Logan Rhoades chipped in six points, knocking down a pair of third quarter 3-pointers. Blue Ridge has played a ton of neutral site games this year against high level opponents, but the experience at Miller was, as usual when the Mavericks have their student section going, a unique one.
“This is really only our second true road game and most of our players have never been in this gym before so that was really fun to get them a chance to play in front of a crowd like this,” Cade said.
Like most seasons, the Mavericks and Barons are likely to cross paths at least once and perhaps twice more in the VIC and VISAA tournaments. For now though, Miller faces a quick turnaround with a home game against Hargrave Wednesday night while the Barons host Highland Tuesday.
