By Thomas Grant Jr.
The strategy of competitive non-region games has earned another prestigious national holiday tournament title for Ridge View.
On Dec. 29, the Blazers defeated Tri-Cities Christian 66-62 to win the Arby’s Classic at Virginia High School in Bristol, Va. The four wins gave Ridge View a 6-game winning streak entering Monday’s Region 4-5A opener at archrival Westwood.
Photo Credit
Dawn Lambert, TriCitiesSports.com
The Blazers opened the tournament with a 73-60 win over Mount Bethel Christian (GA). Tournament MVP R.J. Davis had 19 points, four blocks and three steals to lead a quartet of double-figure scorers.
D.J. Wylie had 14 points and four steals, C.J. Moore finished with 13 points, rebounds and three steals and Talon Staley had 11 points and three rebounds.
Davis continued his strong play the next night in a 79-45 rout of Gate City (VA). He scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half.
Staley had 13 points and Moore finished with 11 for the Blazers to reach the semifinals.
The matchup with Dutchtown (GA) was closely fought before Ridge View came out with the 54-45 win. Moore led the win with 20 points and Davis finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three blocks.
In the championship game, Staley, Wylie and Moore all scored 14 points and Davis finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
This was the second holiday tournament in three years won by Ridge View, which claimed the final Chick-Fil-A Classic title in 2023.
(Photos courtesy of Arby’s Classic)
