VES avenges loss to Blue Ridge

LYNCHBURG — Playing its first season in the Virginia Independent Conference’s upper division, which includes Division I powers Blue Ridge, Miller School and Liberty Christian Academy, Virginia Episcopal School’s boys basketball team is starting to show it can hold its own.

Since winning the Virginia Independent Schools Division III title last year, the Bishops bumped up to Division II for basketball only. Tuesday night at home, they put themselves in the thick of the VIC race by avenging a 19-point loss at Blue Ridge on Dec. 13 with a 56-42 victory over the Barons (10-4, 3-1 VIC).

“They got us good up at their place and the motto for tonight was ‘payback’ and that’s what we did,” said VES senior guard Isaac Belton, who scored a game-high 20 points, including the Bishops’ first basket, ending a 6-0 Blue Ridge run by capping a fast break with a one-handed jam. “We played with more energy and intensity, feeding off the crowd. Our crowd is always behind us. We don’t feel anybody can beat us when they come in here.”

That bodes well for the Bishops (9-2, 2-1), who will host the VIC tournament final on Feb. 25.

Senior center Ifeanyi Onyekaba, who scored 11 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, tied the game at 8-8 by taking an entry pass, pivoting and finishing with a layup from the left baseline. He later helped put the game away by taking a feed from Daulton Halfacre (four assists) in the center of the lane for a powerful two-handed slam that gave the Bishops their biggest lead of the game, 51-36, with 3:35 to play.

“Our defensive intensity wasn’t where we needed it to be tonight,” Blue Ridge coach Bill Ramsey said. “We didn’t communicate with screens. Hats off to VES. They came out and played really hard and did what they needed to do to win. They’re a great team with great players and they wanted it more than we did tonight.”

Belton said VES’s matchup zone defense has given opponents plenty of matchup problems.

“Especially against the slashing types of teams like Benedictine and Blue Ridge,” he said. “It slows them down. The last few games, we haven’t allowed anybody to score more than 55 points on us.”

The competition doesn’t get any easier for either team this week. VES travels to Charlottesville to take on Miller School on Thursday.

“That is going to be a great game,” Onyekaba said. “They have a very good post player [but] our team has the same athleticism. I think it’s going to be a very good matchup. Everything is even.”

Then on Friday at the Franklin County Classic, Blue Ridge challenges the No. 1 team in the nation, Oak Hill Academy, where VES coach Curtis Staples played before going on to UVa.

“We’ll either get blown out or we’ll play really well with them,” Blue Ridge guard Daniel Ginsberg said. “We’ll see which team comes to play.”