Basketball Preview: Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers vs. Chapman Panthers
Blue Ridge is 8-2 against the Panthers since December of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Blue Ridge Fighting Tigers will be playing at home against the Chapman Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully Blue Ridge focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up nine on Friday.
Blue Ridge was handed a three-point loss in their last game, but they sure didn't let that happen against the Trojans on Friday. Blue Ridge blew past the Trojans 62-40. For those curious, yes, that was the biggest victory Blue Ridge has managed all season.
Blue Ridge had a senior duo take command as Nicklaus Poole dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds and Nash Somero scored 17 points along with eight assists and four steals. Somero hasn't dropped below 15 points for 12 straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Paul Bishop, who scored 13 points along with five rebounds.
Meanwhile, Chapman ended up a good deal behind the Yellowjackets on Tuesday and lost 52-38.
Blue Ridge is on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 10-14 record this season. As for Chapman, they have been struggling recently as they've lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-11 record this season.
Blue Ridge beat the Panthers 68-56 in their previous matchup back in January. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Chapman's Rashawn Cunningham, who scored 24 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Blue Ridge still be able to contain Cunningham? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
