Blue Ridge holds off Miller in thriller

The latest installment of what has become one of the great rivalries in Central Virginia provided yet another fantastic finish, as Blue Ridge survived a last-second, potential game-winning jumper from Miller star forward Andrew White to give coach Bill Ramsey his 300th career victory, 64-63, on Tuesday night.

The Barons (14-6, 5-1) pulled off the season sweep (by a combined three points) and claimed the VIC’s top seed heading into next week’s league tournament in the process, as senior forward Paris Maragkos and junior guard Ahmad Fields each recorded double-doubles to lead the way.

“It’s all been about having lots of good players and lots of good wins over the years,” said Ramsey when asked where Tuesday’s win ranks among the other 299. “I really didn’t think about that, it was really just one possession at a time, I knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle, and now I can look back and I’m really, really proud to get that 300th win, it means a whole lot.”

The game had a lot on the line going in, as Blue Ridge had a chance to win the regular-season title outright, while a Miller win would force a three-way tie in which the Mavericks could earn the top seed via tiebreaker scenarios. Add to that the fact that the two squads were tied for fourth in the VISAA Division I standings, along with the fact that it was senior night in front of one of the biggest crowds in Miller School history battling a large contingent from St. George.

The visiting Barons jumped out to an early 8-2 lead over the opening two minutes, until University of Kansas-bound White — who entered the contest with 999 career points — completed a three-point play as part of a personal 7-3 run by the talented forward to get back in it. The game was stopped to present White with the game ball, which he ran into the stands to give to his family.

“I was looking forward to this game for multiple reasons,” said White. “A big rivalry, senior night, a thousand points, it was all great, but what I wanted the most was to bring this win home… I’ve had a great career here at Miller, it was good to get the 1,000th point in such a big game, so it made my family and I proud.”

In the midst of the action, White was whistled for his second offensive foul of the first quarter and had to watch from the bench for much of the remainder of the half. The Barons took advantage of White’s absence by scoring 10 straight points to lead 27-17 after a Travis Hester 3-pointer tied the game at 17-all early in the second quarter. White and the Mavericks (15-8, 2-3) closed to within four, but Blue Ridge ended the half on a 6-2 spurt to take a 35-27 advantage into the break.

Junior guard Jarod Williams and White led their respective teams with 11 points apiece at halftime.

In the second, Ramsey decided to change up his strategy on the offensive end after noticing how Miller coach Scott Willard’s bunch was defending in the first.

“Well [Miller] came out in a zone, and it kind of surprised me, so we tried to spread it out, pick our spots and pick our shots, and the kids played pretty mature against that… we got a lot of easy baskets at that end,” recalled the coach.

The Barons benefitted from the move, scoring the first six points of the half and extending the lead to as many as 14 points. Miller would not die, however, going on an 8-1 run — highlighted by a pretty alley-oop slam by White off a Janiel Jenkins steal and assist — to trim the lead to 43-39 with 1:38 left in the period. The Barons answered back again, as Fields tipped in a miss with eight seconds showing to make it a nine-point lead heading into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter belonged to Maragkos, who scored eight of his 18 points over the final six minutes. His final bucket gave the Barons a 58-48 lead midway through, but the Mavericks had enough gas left in the tank for one last rally. Fields hit a pair of free throws with 1:51 to play to nudge the lead back to 10, 64-54, as White picked up his fourth foul. Jenkins set White up for another high-flying oop, this time off the backboard, then a Blue Ridge turnover gave the ball back to Miller, and White saved a miss from sailing out of bounds, then quickly put it back up and in to cut it to six, 64-58, with less than a minute to go.

Fields missed the first two of six consecutive Barons free throw attempts with 32 seconds left, and Miller’s Chase Cannon quickly scored his only bucket of the night to trim the deficit to four. After Darryl Smith missed two more at the stripe, another Miller senior, Devon Anderson, hit a huge triple with 10 seconds left to make it 64-63.

“I don’t think I’ve ever won a game shooting free throws like that,” said Ramsey, whose team missed 17 attempts from the charity stripe on the evening.

Added Willard of the final sequence: “Well, we had four seniors out there on senior night, and you could tell they didn’t want to leave the court, they wanted to leave it all out there, and I thought they did an unbelievable job of representing our team and the school with their effort.”

Williams caught a long inbound pass and was fouled immediately by Jenkins, but could not knock down either of his pressure-packed freebies, giving the Mavericks one last crack at it with no timeouts.

After a hectic scramble, White got off a solid look from the baseline just before the horn sounded, but the shot just missed breaking the hearts of the Blue Ridge faithful, which then poured onto the floor in celebration.

“We had a great look,” Willard said. “It just went in-and-out… tough way to lose.”

Added White of the play: “I wouldn’t have it any other way — a wide-open shot from point-blank range. I wasn’t too aware of the time on the clock since I had my back to the basket, but like I said, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m proud of my team’s effort. I could have made a big shot and put my name in the history books, so as far as the shot, shoot it — make it or miss it… You never shy away from a moment like that, so that’s the way it goes. That’s basketball.”

White finished with a game-high 26 points, while Jenkins added 11 and five assists. The Mavericks will close out the VIC slate on Thursday at Liberty Christian before a pair of games in the nation’s capital this weekend to finish the regular season.

Maragkos, who hails from Greece, had 12 rebounds and four blocks, and was 6 for 8 from the free throw line. The George Washington University commit explained how important the victory meant to him and his team.

“We knew that it would be a really tough game,” the big man said. “We respect Miller School, they are so good, but we came prepared and we took the ‘W’. We came in focused and that was the main thing. We played for [the milestone win], we respect Coach, we love him, and we played for him today. It’s a big win but we have to keep working.”

Fields also scored 18, and added 10 rebounds and a pair of assists. Williams finished with 15 points and nine helpers, while Smith added five points and nine dimes.