Basketball Game Preview: Blue Ridge Barons vs. New Covenant Gryphons

The Blue Ridge Barons will take on the New Covenant Gryphons at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Blue Ridge comes in on 18 and New Covenant on 11.

Blue Ridge is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They put the hurt on North Cross with a sharp 93-73 win on Tuesday. The Barons have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won seven matches by 20 points or more this season.

Blue Ridge found their leader in sophomore Austin Agosto Navarro, who went 8 for 15 on his way to 23 points in addition to five assists and four steals. Those 23 points gave Agosto Navarro a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dreylan Creasy-Quirindoongo, who went 9 of 15 on his way to 22 points.

Meanwhile, New Covenant strolled past Fishburne Military with points to spare on Thursday, taking the game 57-43. Given the Gryphons 's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked 44th, while the Caissons are ranked 241st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

New Covenant's win came from a few key players Blue Ridge will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Cole Murdock, who posted 19 points. His evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Rusty Hooks, who went 5 of 11 on his way to 11 points along with five rebounds and four steals.

Blue Ridge pushed their record up to 18-0 with the victory, which was their 11th straight at home dating back to last season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 78.3 points per game. As for New Covenant, their win bumped their record up to 11-1.

Everything came up roses for Blue Ridge against New Covenant in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, as the team secured a 109-63 victory. In that contest, Blue Ridge amassed a halftime lead of 59-34, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Thursday.