Ridge View 65 – Ashley Ridge 44
by Chris Dearing
COLONIAL LIFE ARENA
- Ridge View is making the claim as the most dominant basketball program in the state after winning its third straight state championship, this one a 65-44 victory over Ashley Ridge in the Class 5A, Division I title Friday night.
- DJ Wylie led four players in double figures with 14 points. RJ Davis chipped in with 11 points, JT Vankallan and Tal Staley both added 10 points and the Blazers added their seventh state titles in the last nine seasons.
- Ridge View (28-3) had to replace all five starters from a season ago but that didn’t matter. The Blazers only lost once to a team from South Carolina (They went 1-1 against Westwood, the Class 5A, Division II state champion) and to two national powerhouses in the Bojangles Bash in December.
- “It means the kids work really hard and they buy in,” Ridge View coach Joshua Staley said. “Obviously we missed the guys that graduated and we definitely missed Korie (Corbitt) and Yale (Davis) but the next man is always ready because of the work that they put in. I’m not surprised.”
- Corbitt and Davis transferred to out-of-state schools.
- This one was tied at 17 early in the second quarter but by the time it reached the half, the Blazers were in control 32-19. The lead reached as many as 29 points in the third quarter before both teams substituted liberally in the final quarter.
- Ashley Ridge (23-8) finished fourth in its region before winning four games to reach its first-ever state championship in boys basketball. Clayton Everett scored 20 points, and Shayne Pinckney added 13 points for the Swamp Foxes.
- Staley played for Ashley Ridge coach Brad Dobbels in high school at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler.
Ridge View Final Stats
Ashley Ridge Final Stats
