Preview: Blue Ridge Barons vs. Carlisle Chiefs
Blue Ridge is 10-0 against Carlisle since February of 2016, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Blue Ridge Barons' homestand continues as they prepare to take on the Carlisle Chiefs at 6:30 p.m. on February 22nd. Blue Ridge knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 21 games -- so hopefully Carlisle likes a good challenge.
Blue Ridge stacked a 13th blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Tuesday. They really took it to Virginia Episcopal School for the full four quarters, racking up a 103-67 win at home. Given Blue Ridge's advantage in MaxPreps' Virginia basketball rankings (they are ranked tenth, while Virginia Episcopal School is ranked 95th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Blue Ridge to victory, but perhaps none more so than Shanon Simango, who scored 26 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Simango has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Dreylan Creasy-Quirindoongo, who scored 17 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Meanwhile, two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Carlisle walked away with it. They strolled past the Raiders with points to spare on Tuesday, taking the game 79-61. The victory was just what Carlisle needed coming off of a 123-63 loss in their prior match.
Carlisle got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Branson Leduc-Mattox out in front who almost dropped a double-double on 22 points and nine rebounds. Trey Beamer was another key contributor, scoring 23 points.
Blue Ridge is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 22-9 record this season. As for Carlisle, their win was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 23-11.
Thursday's matchup is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Blue Ridge have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 47.5% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Carlisle struggles in that department as they've made 47.2% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Blue Ridge against Carlisle in their previous matchup on Saturday as the team secured a 123-63 victory. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Beamer, who scored 30 points. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Blue Ridge still be able to contain Beamer? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
