Blue Ridge cruises to win over Covenant

Blue Ridge got a nice tune-up before today’s game against Atlantic Shores Christian on Friday, taking care of Covenant 74-51 despite a huge game from the Eagles’ Brian Clarry.

The Barons wasted no time in the first quarter, jumping out to a 16-6 lead. They continued to pour it on in the second, outscoring the Eagles

27-11. Covenant’s size disadvantage showed, and the Barons took a 43-17 lead into halftime.

Clarry, a 6-5, 200-pound senior forward, tied a school record by hitting eight 3-pointers on the evening and led all scorers with 29 points. No other Eagle had more than nine.

“It’s good to know that I tied the record, but I’d rather have the win,” Clarry said. “I played with confidence and started to feel it, but obviously we just needed to make a run, so that’s what I tried to do.”

Covenant coach Ben D’Alessandro knew that his young team would face a difficult challenge over the first four contests, and hopes that Clarry and his teammates can continue to learn and improve as the season continues forward.

“Brian Clarry is one of the best shooters in the state,” said D’Alessandro. “I was proudest of his defensive effort. We didn’t want to go toe-to-toe with them in the paint tonight, and we really showed character in the second half.”

The Barons (4-1) are beginning to show signs of greatness, and head coach Bill Ramsey knows that now is the time for his troops to turn it on.

“We’ve been working hard at jelling as players, we’ve got a lot of individual talent,” Ramsey said. “We’re starting to get to the point where we’re finding open guys and having fun playing.”

Blue Ridge led 56-23 midway through the third quarter, and Clarry did his best to shoot the Eagles back into contention. Clarry scored 14 in the third quarter as Covenant went on a 23-9 run over the next eight minutes to cut the lead to 19, but that would be the closest the Eagles would get.

Senior forward Kristijan Krajina led the Barons with 16 points, while Scott Williams added 12 and Isaiah Battle, a 6-8, 250-pound sophomore from New York, finished with 11.

“Some nights, Kristijan is not going to be the guy that scores all the points — it’s going to vary,” Ramsey said. “That’s part of having depth and talent, and we’ve got to get used to that.”

Covenant (0-4) will have just over two weeks before taking on another quality opponent in The Daily Progress Holiday Basketball Classic on Dec. 27. The Eagles will face Charlottesville in the opening round, and D’Alessandro will be the first to tell you that his team will be prepared.

“We probably won’t play a team as talented as Blue Ridge for the rest of the year,” D’Alessandro admitted. “What we take from tonight is that we’re battle-tested, we know how good we can be, and we’re ready to take on anyone.”

Blue Ridge hosts Atlantic Shores — a team that knocked off Miller already and has two Division I-bound players — this afternoon.

The Barons will have to contend with 6-5 Duke signee Andre Dawkins and 6-4 Oklahoma commitment Steven Pledger, who Ramsey coached for two years ago at Blue Ridge.

“It’s our first home game and we’re going to have our hands full, but we’re very excited,” Ramsey said.