St. Anne’s-Belfield boys basketball is just starting to put the pieces together, but if the first returns are any indication, the Saints are in for an exciting year.
STAB rolled past Blue Ridge 76-41 Tuesday night, with the Barons retooling around a group of young, undersized players. It was a rare win for the Saints over Blue Ridge.
“I think I’m 1-15 or something like that but that one was awesome,” said STAB coach Brian Kent. “It’s a good way to start off the year.”
The Saints’ night got started with a Javin Montgomery-Delaurier monster dunk in transition. Things slowed down the rest of the first quarter, but STAB got moving after that with Montgomery-Delaurier cleaning up on the boards with 13 first half rebounds. He also finished with three assists.
“We’re pretty athletic and we’re going to want to push the ball,” Kent said. “The sky’s the limit for (Montgomery-Delaurier). He can see the floor and he did a nice job of finding the guys (in transition).”
With Montgomery-Delaurier’s effort underneath on the glass and Parker Morris finding a rhythm during the second quarter and scoring 11 of his 20 total points during the frame, STAB built a 38-21 lead at the break. STAB kept rolling after halftime too, as Fluvanna transfer Jalen Harrison poured in 10 of his 16 points during the third quarter. Harrison dominated on the low block as Blue Ridge struggled to matchup with the Saints’ newest addition. According to Kent, he’s seamlessly integrating himself into the flow for the Saints.
“He fits right in, he’s not a selfish player, he’s just an athlete so he’s going to do whatever it takes to win,” Kent said. “I think it’s working well.”
Harrison added six boards to his 16-point effort. STAB senior Sam Lorenzo, finished with eight rebounds. Kareem Johnson finished with 11 points on the night to round out the double digit scorers for the Saints. John Woodson, a sophomore, fished out four assists.
Tanner Morris, a freshman, had seven points in the first half off the bench, burying a big 3-pointer during the second quarter run.
The Barons are struggling to find their footing with a host of new faces and the injury to forward P.J. White that ended his football season and will keep him out of basketball.
“I think we need to do a better job of going back to some basic things,” said Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey. “There’s not a lot of room for error. In previous years you could make mistakes and overcome them with talent and size — particularly size. We’ve got to do a better job…on things that we can control.”
Affana Offor led the Barons with 12 points, going 6 for 7 at the free throw line. Cal Ramsey finished with 10 on the night.
STAB hosts Hampton Roads Academy Wednesday at 5 p.m. Blue Ridge will host Carlisley Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
