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Blue Ridge takes down Miller in round three with a monster run

With a loss to the team that edged them in the VISAA Division 2 championship game last year, in Virginia Episcopal on Friday, Blue Ridge pulled the thorn out of its side, and got fired up to play its other VIC rival. If you were Miller, the timing of this third game between the two (the second in just 11 days) could not have been worse. The Barons, to put it bluntly, were a buzzsaw on Tuesday as they gear up with a primetime national level game on Wednesday. With a great finish to the first half, Blue Ridge came out on fire in the second and the game was as simple as that. In the end, it amounted to the third win of the year over the Mavericks, this one with a final score of 66-43.

 

“We felt like we left something to be desired down at VES and the boys were really focused,” said Barons coach Cade Lemcke. “I thought we did a great job rebounding…the guys did a great job of digging in and that was exposed down in Lynchburg. We didn’t rebound well. Didn’t put bodies on guys and so that was the big focus. I thought we did a good job. We also contested a lot of shots. Miller has great shooters.”

 

While Blue Ridge raced out to a 15-6 start, Miller was able to hang tight in the second part of the first quarter through much of the second. The Barons leaned on their inside-out game with Aamir Simms and Richard Amaefule doing work in the paint and Darius McGhee knocking down 3-pointers. The Mavericks stayed with-in a 10-point margin with Deshaun Wade and Aundre Hyatt leading the way.

 

But a 10-point lead is still a 10-point lead so when Blue Ridge ripped off a 23-4 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, that was game, set and match.

 

“They’re a very good team,” said Miller coach Danny Miller. “Every night (you play them) it’s pick your poison, right? Are you going to double the post and focus on Aamir and let Darius shoot it whenever he wants? Are we going help so much on Aamir that they throw it to (Sadaar Calhoun) and we have bad closeouts and he gets what he wants? Can we keep (Josh Colon) out of the paint?… only giving up 66 is okay, but…”

 

And that was the problem. With 11 points straight from Calhoun including a trio of 3-pointers to open the third quarter, it appeared Blue Ridge had pulled away for good. But back-to-back dunks in transition off of steals from Simms turned out to the true final nails in the coffin with the game out of reach at 48-19. From their the Barons were able to work in their entire bench and finish out the game.

 

“As soon as the energy goes up, the defense comes out,” Calhoun said. “We’re ready to play from then and shut the game down. (Losing Friday) shook us up. But I’m glad our schedule is compacted. Right after we lose we come out and play Miller, get to take it out on them.”

 

Calhoun finished with a game high 13 points. Simms finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds. He also had four assists. Amaefule had 10 points to along with three blocks. Josh Colon had nine points. In the end, 11 different Barons scored in the contest with six different players scoring at least five points.

 

“We pride ourselves on our defense and we pride ourselves on our depth, our numbers,” Lemcke said. “That was great for these guys, players 11-12-13, guys who work their butts off in practice to get a chance to play significant minutes in the fourth quarter. That was great. It gets the kids excited.”

 

For Miller, Wade led with 10 points while Hyatt had nine. The Mavericks (12-5) will look to have a short memory as they play Williamsburg Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m.

 

“We’ve lost five games and three of them to Blue Ridge,” Manuel said. “We’ve got five games left with one on the road and the others at home. We’ve just got to circle the wagons and hope to catch them in the VIC tournament.”
The Barons (21-2) have a quick turnaround with a meeting with famed Oak Hill Academy in the Big Atlantic Classic in Beckley, WV, today at 9 p.m.

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