Carlisle is 0-10 against Blue Ridge since February of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Carlisle Chiefs will head out on the road to challenge the Blue Ridge Barons at 6:30 p.m. Carlisle has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 834 points over their last 11 matchups.
Carlisle had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They enjoyed a cozy 79-61 victory over North Cross on Tuesday. Having run the score up that high, both teams probably have some extra defensive drills coming up.
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. The team also got some help courtesy of Trey Beamer, who scored 23 points.
Meanwhile, Blue Ridge put the finishing touches on their 13th blowout victory of the season on Tuesday. They really took it to Virginia Episcopal School for the full four quarters, racking up a 103-67 win at home. The win was familiar territory for Blue Ridge who now have three in a row.
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. Simango hasn't dropped below 15 points for 17 straight games. Dreylan Creasy-Quirindoongo was another key contributor, scoring 17 points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Carlisle pushed their record up to 23-11 with that victory, which was their eighth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 76.5 points per game. As for Blue Ridge, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 22-9 record this season.
This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: Carlisle have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 27.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Blue Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Carlisle was dealt a bruising 123-63 loss at the hands of Blue Ridge in their previous meeting on Saturday. Can Carlisle avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
