For Grayson Gunner and Travis Hester, it was a matter of exercising a demon. Miller’s senior duo waited three years for it, and endured eight straight losses to Blue Ridge.
Last year the Mavericks had a chance to win all four its meetings against the Barons but fell short by a combined seven points. There was no drama this time around in a rivalry that has provided just that every time dating back to the last time Miller took down Blue Ridge during the 2009-2010 season. Behind a strong start in the first quarter, an explosion to finish the second, the Mavericks were able to enjoy a comfortable win over the Barons, 80-55. And the only thing missing in it was Miller coach Scott Willard who was unable to attend because of illness.
“Tonight we got a lot of stops on defense and that led to us getting some easy buckets and I think that was the biggest thing,” said Miller assistant coach Tommy Landseadel, who took the reins along with fellow assistant Clark Walker for Willard. “We talked about it at halftime that we know Blue Ridge well, they would come out with fight and energy and if we didn’t do the same, they’d comeback on us. So I thought our seniors did a great job of taking ownership on that, holding everyone accountable. We never allowed them to go on that big run.”
The Mavericks claimed the lead with junior Isaac Copeland and Travis Hester hitting 3-pointers to fuel a 9-4 start. Behind seniors Leon Straus and Darryl Smith, the Barons kept it a two-possession game until Miller went on a run to close the first quarter with a 12-point lead as Gunner and Tony Washington got warm.
“It was killing me, we’ve been waiting for this all year,” Gunner said. “Everybody had energy. I really wanted to come out and play really, really hard. We were all hyped in the locker room, but we settled down and knew what we had to do.”
The second quarter saw Miller go off on both ends with Gunner and Copeland leading the way in transition and giving their team a healthy 17-point lead going into the break.
In the third quarter Blue Ridge was able to slow the pace down and get in position defensively. That stopped the bleeding with Smith, Strauss and Tyler Cole helping out offensively.
“There were matchup problems everywhere,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey. “For us, in the first half we didn’t get back on defense and were just too locked in on our own man. It seemed like we were starting over again with team defense, and then doing too much 1-on-1 on offense. In the second half, both those things were better and we played more evenly.”
But positive results didn’t last long, or rather, Miller simply reestablished its advantage of its size with Copeland and Washington and worked its way to a 21-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
“We noticed that Tony had a mismatch on him, so we attacked that every time,” Copeland said. “He attacked, got to the free throw line a lot and that just opened up everything for everyone else.”
Miller did not waver in the final frame. Both Washington and Copeland continued to thrive inside and contributions from Cameron Smith only helped to close out the win.
“The rivalry is back on now,” Hester said. “I told my teammates in the locker room not to sleep on this, we usually play well and defend our home court, but this was a personal game for us.”
Four players finished in double figures for Miller with Copeland leading with 19 points to go with a game high 10 rebounds. Washington had 14 points and nine rebounds. Gunner and Hester both had 12 points. Gunner had six assists. Hester added eight boards and four steals.
For Blue Ridge, Straus led the way with 17 points. Cole finished with 15. Smith had 12.
The last time Miller beat Blue Ridge, Georgetown College (KY) junior Mychal Parker, Memphis junior Hippolyte Tsfack and Providence junior Brice Kofane were on the court. By comparison, Blue Ridge alums Malick Kone (Rutgers), Isaiah Battle (Clemson, for football), Cameron Anderson (Hampden Sydney), and Chad Holley (Mt. Saint Mary’s) were on the court.
The Barons (4-7) get no break as they head to Liberty Christian today at 7:30 p.m.
The Mavericks (9-5) host, fittingly enough, Liberty Christian on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
