Basketball Recap: Blue Ridge's Loss Ends 14-Game Winning Streak at Home

On Thursday, Blue Ridge faced St. Anne's-Belfield in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Blue Ridge Barons were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 68-67 to the St. Anne's-Belfield Saints. It was the first time this season that the Barons let down their fans at home.

Blue Ridge lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Dreylan Creasy-Quirindoongo, who went 6 for 10 on his way to 16 points. The matchup was Creasy-Quirindoongo's third in a row with at least ten points. Jonathon Robinson was another key player, going 6 of 10 en route to 13 points.

St. Anne's-Belfield's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chance Mallory, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and ten assists. Mallory has been hot for a while, having posted 17 or more points the last 12 times he's played. Another player making a difference was Danzelle Bullock Coles, who posted 19 points and five boards.

Blue Ridge's loss ended a 14-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 23-3. As for St. Anne's-Belfield, the victory (which was their ninth in a row) raised their record to 16-7.

Blue Ridge won't have much time to rest: their next game is against Charlotte Performance Institute at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. As for St. Anne's-Belfield, they will be playing in front of their home fans against St. Christopher's at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.