Down four points at the half and having endured an electric first two quarters from St. Anne’s-Belfield’s Chance Mallory, Blue Ridge knew it didn’t need to panic.
They had 16 minutes of basketball and the Barons had yet to get in gear. Plus, they had Maliq Brown.
“Maliq is pretty much unstoppable,” said Blue Ridge’s Camden Brewer. “His energy not only on the offensive end but on the defensive end changes every single game.”
The Barons rode a resurgent second half performance to a 61-53 victory with Brown scoring 22 points, pulling down 12 rebounds, coming up with five steals and three blocks.
Brown scored six of those points and wreaked all kinds of havoc on defense in the third, igniting a 15-2 run that put Blue Ridge in control of the back-and-forth clash with the Saints.
“We had to come back in the second half and just bounce back,” Brown said. “We knew we had to have a strong second half.”
The Saints simply couldn’t shake out of a shooting slump in the third and turnovers compounded STAB’s sudden offensive problems. After scoring on their first possession of the second half, the Saints went scoreless for more than seven minutes.
“They had 17 offensive rebounds, we had 15 turnovers and if you give a team that good 32 extra possessions you’re not going to win no matter how well you play,” said STAB coach Damin Altizer. “But even with all that, it’s a five-point game with four minutes to go, so a lot to build on but we’re still disappointed.”
Those extra possessions came in part from an energized defensive effort by Blue Ridge, with Houston Emory coming up with three blocks to help aid Brown’s own efforts. Emory also had eight rebounds and six points.
“(Brown and Emory) have so much experience,” said Blue Ridge coach Cade Lemcke. “They play at such a high level that over the course of that game, as long as they stay steady and continue their intensity they’re going to win out in the end.”
The Barons’ guards also got involved in a much bigger way in the second half, with Devin Walker finishing with 12 points and five assists while Robby Matos had 10 points and five assists. It was an impressive gear shift for the Blue Ridge backcourt after Mallory scored 19 points in the first half. He finished with 26 for the game.
“Between Devin and Robby and Cam and Levi (Pigues), the four of them did a great job in that second half,” Lemcke said. “A fresh Chance is very different from a third and fourth quarter Chance when he’s been having to deal with guys continuously on him and trapping him.”
Mallory finished 8-for-15 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free throw line. Blue Ridge had to throw a lot at the sophomore guard defensively to eventually wear him down, and he still managed to hit a big three and a tough bucket and a foul in the fourth.
“He was the best player on the floor the entire first half and that’s no disrespect to any of their guys but everybody in the gym knew who was the dominant player in the first half,” Altizer said.
Brewer finished with eight points and played a critical role in keeping the Barons close in the first half with a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter. He also gave Blue Ridge some big-time energy on the defensive end, staying active defensively against STAB’s guards while giving them some issues with his length and height at 6-foot-3.
Carter Lang posted a double double for the Saints with 14 points and 12 rebounds and John St. Germain chipped in 10 points.
The Barons will face Bishop McNamara, Paul VI and Dover out of Delaware this weekend in a tournament before returning home to host The Carmel School Tuesday. STAB will look to bounce back at home Friday against Bullis before squaring off with Miller Monday night at home.
