Blue Ridge holds off Liberty Christian

By: DREW GOODMAN | Daily Progress correspondent
Published: February 03, 2012

ST. GEORGE — It was closer than many expected, but the Blue Ridge boys basketball team held off visiting Liberty Christian Academy, 47-42, on Friday.

Paris Maragokos came out hot for Blue Ridge, scoring the first six points of the game. A 6-foot-9 senior from Athens, Greece, Maragokos has seen his minutes increase throughout the season and has earned his way into the starting lineup.

“He’s gotten a lot stronger and the guys are showing more confidence in him,” Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey said. “I thought he drew a lot of attention after that stretch, drawing a lot of double and triple teams.”

The Barons held a six-point lead early in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs kept it close. Thanks to six points from Darren Hackley, LCA outscored Blue Ridge 12-4 in the second quarter, leaving the game tied at 17-17 at the break.

“We were playing a little tight,” Ramsey said. “We were worrying a little too much about our shots and losing instead of winning.”

The Barons looked like a completely different team at the beginning of the second half. Blue Ridge opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run and appeared to be in complete control of the game, but the Bulldogs would not go away. BJ Farrow scored six points to lead a 13-2 run as LCA cut the Barons’ lead to one heading into the fourth quarter.

Farrow then scored the first points of the fourth quarter to give LCA its first lead of the contest. The Bulldogs led by three with just over four minutes remaining before Blue Ridge’s Ahmad Fields and Jarod Williams took over the game. Fields scored six straight points to give the lead back to the Barons. With Blue Ridge holding a slim lead late, Williams picked up the slack and scored the final six points of the game. The Barons clamped down on defense, yielding only two LCA points and the final 3:30. Williams buried two clutch free throws and Blue Ridge escaped with a five-point victory.

“I told them that sometimes you just have to win,” Ramsey said. “There were some defensive breakdowns and they made a few shots. You have to give credit to how hard those guys played. You have to feel good about still coming out of there with a win.”

Fields led the Barons with 15 points while Williams added 14.

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