The Blue Ridge Knights waltzed into their contest on Friday with two straight wins but they left with three. They walked away with a 57-45 victory over Cumberland. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Blue Ridge also won the last time the pair played back in January of 2023.
Colin Michaels was his usual excellent self, scoring 22 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points he has scored all season. Wyatt Pearl was another key contributor, scoring 11 points along with five assists and five rebounds.
Several Pirates players turned in solid performances, despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Blake Mcmechan, who scored 12 points along with two steals. Mcmechan has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times he's played. Another player making a difference was Kaleb Bierman, who scored seven points along with two steals.
Blue Ridge's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-6. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 64.8 points per game. As for Cumberland, they have been struggling recently, as they've lost nine of their last ten games, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-14 record this season.
Blue Ridge will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Okaw Valley at 7:30 p.m. on January 30th. As for Cumberland, they will head out on the road to challenge Heritage at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Heritage is coming into the game on a four-game losing streak.
