There was undoubtedly a sense of solemness that hung over Blue Ridge boys basketball’s 62-43 VISAA D2 state semifinal win over Middleburg Friday afternoon.
The Barons are a tight-knit group, a family forged by the boarding school environment, and one of their brothers was hurting. Standout forward Andy Nwaoko went down with an apparent knee injury midway through the fourth quarter, and as he awaited a stretcher, the Barons circled around Nwaoko and then prayed as a team for him.
“You’re sad for him because that’s your brother and you never want to see your brother hurt,” said Blue Ridge’s Michael Gray. “But we know he’s super strong and tough. He can get through anything.”
After Nwaoko was transported out, Blue Ridge finished off the win and advanced to Saturday’s state final for the sixth-straight year. An extremely fast start that’s become a habit this postseason for the Barons sparked the win. Blue Ridge jumped out to an 18-4 lead on Middleburg in the first quarter and never allowed the Dragons to climb back into things.
“We want to punch first and get these teams out of the way,” said Blue Ridge’s William Lee. “If we get them out of there early then we don’t have to stress ourselves out down the stretch.”
Gray scored 13 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for an impressive double double by the point guard. He was a big reason for the electric start and the tip of the spear for a balanced offense that also got 11 points from Lee and 13 points from Maliq Brown.
Lee is one of the Barons’ best on-ball defenders and he was locked in as usual on that end. But his speed was the star in this one as he somehow managed to be sold out on defense and still quickly forced the issue on the other end while Middleburg struggled to get back on defense against him, leading to a series of runouts that helped ignite the quick start too.
“Our goal is to start strong, we know teams are going to do a great job game-planning, they’re going to be focused and ready for that game and we know that beginning has got to be our time,” said Blue Ridge coach Cade Lemcke. “If we can impress upon the other team the way we’re going to defend and what we’re going to do on the offensive end, that gets us going. Then the bench is excited and the guys are excited. These guys are great at understanding what the plan is and going out and executing it.”
Middleburg never really had much of a chance as Blue Ridge’s depth continued to give them problems and they couldn’t match the Barons’ pace. Brown added six boards and three blocks to his 13 points while Lee had five rebounds and three assists.
Sasha Glushkov and Kobe Jerome chipped in with six points each with Jerome dishing out four assists and Nwaoko had six points and six boards before his injury.
The reaction to Nwaoko’s injury showed just how insular, just how close Blue Ridge’s basketball team is, and how in tune they are with one another.
“Andy is a big part of our family and these guys also know that (him) being an international student you don’t have your parents or your siblings right here to help you through anything that happens good or bad,” Lemcke said. “I was not surprised seeing our guys banding together and wanting to be there around him during that tough time. It’s a testament to the type of kids we have and a testament to the type of relationships Andy has, you want to be around him.”
The injury almost immediately became fuel for Saturday’s season finale, where the Barons can win their second state title in a row, the program’s fourth in six years and seventh all-time state championship.
“We know Andy is going to be good and he’s going to recover fast,” Lee said. “We’ve just got to stay strong and win tomorrow for Andy.”
The Barons will face Norfolk Collegiate Saturday at 2 p.m. in the state final.
