By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Greg Maynard knew his AHS squad would have its hands full with J.E.B. Stuart’s Mikey Bickerton.
“He’s a man in there among boys,” said Maynard. “Whoever was guarding him was going to get in foul trouble. I saw Saturday when they played Charlottesville that he got like four of their players in trouble.” We just tried to alternate on him and do a good job of stopping the rest of their team. If we could spread the fouls out and score consistently, it wouldn’t matter how many points he ended up with.”
The Patriots succeeded on both counts — four players finished in double figures and no one fouled out — as Albemarle won its second game in the 2014 Daily Progress/NBC 29 Holiday Classic by a 77-57 score over the visiting Raiders. Bickerton came through with a double-double, including a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, but the Patriots made sure it didn’t matter.
Austin Katstra led Albemarle to a quick 7-0 lead with a pair of inside buckets. The lead stretched to 22-9 by the end of a long opening quarter with 16 fouls whistled in the first seven minutes. Consequently, Albemarle eclipsed Saturday’s 16-for-30 free throw shooting performance with 17 makes on 22 attempts before halftime.
“That’s the way high school basketball has been called this year,” Maynard said. “They’re calling it really tight. Sometimes it loosens up in the second half, but not always. We’re trying to work on playing defense without sticking hands in there all the time.”
Bickerton earned 10 of his 14 first half points at the foul line, while AHS junior guard Kennedy Brown drew no fewer than seven fouls and cashed in on 10 of his 14 free throw attempts. Katstra tallied 15 at the break, including a full-court steal-and-score punctuated with a two-hand slam as the clock ticked inside ten seconds that gave Albemarle a 38-23 lead.
“Their players kind of picked each other at half court,” said Katstra. “I just went around them and threw it down.”
Just as they opened the game, the Patriots came out from the break with a 7-0 run. The lead hit 20 as sophomore forward Jake Hahn hit his second three-pointer of the night, but junior wingman Patrick Martinez gave the Raiders a spark moments later with back-to-back treys. Albemarle rotated fresh legs from the bench as six players scored in the quarter, and the lead held at 21 entering the fourth. After an 8-2 run cut the margin to 60-45 and energized the Stuart bench, Maynard re-inserted his starters with 4:30 to play. Katstra and Hahn delivered inside to complete a quick 9-2 response over 66 seconds.
Katstra, who had a double-double by halftime, finished with a team-high 20 points, 16 rebounds, and at least five blocks. Hahn and Brown each added 14 points and junior forward Justice Taylor tallied 10 off the bench.
After Bickerton, Martinez scored 12 for the Raiders. Senior guard Theo Lebryk added 11.
“It’s all about February,” said Stuart coach PJ Kelly. “We want to be battle-tested. We’re playing tough teams, and [after losing by 43 to Wakefield] it’s going in the correct direction.”
Albemarle will look to complete a perfect Holiday Classic in the 3:30 game Tuesday against Turner Ashby. Stuart takes on Western in the second game scheduled for 5:15. Charlottesville is the day three host.
