By Allen Kha/Scrimmageplay.com Contributor
After a hard-fought 70-58 away win at Monticello last week, Charlottesville’s boys squad wanted to open the home portion of its conference schedule with a bang. With a solid defensive effort, plenty of hustle, and balanced scoring, the Black Knights treated a raucous home crowd to a convincing 65-46 victory over district foe Western Albemarle.
Charlottesville opened the game with winning intent, hitting two early three-point shots and holding the Warriors scoreless until 2:34 left in the first quarter. The Black Knights were able to move the ball on offense with precision and ease, scoring in both the interior and the perimeter. Among many feats, five Charlottesville players scored in the first quarter alone — 10 Black Knights scored during the entire game.
“Last week, [junior forward Dashaun Blakey] took command of the scoring and carried us with a [34-point] effort, but he’s slightly injured and wasn’t clicking tonight. But other players stepped up and it’s good to see balanced scoring,” Minor said. “We didn’t allow the dribble-drive for them and applied pressure. And because we crashed the boards with intensity, we gave ourselves second and third chances while denying them multiple opportunities.”
Minor’s team grew its lead with every ensuing quarter, expanding a 12-7 first quarter lead into a 31-21 halftime lead, 54-36 third-quarter lead. Junior forward Daquan Jones led all scorers with 16 points and five rebounds, while senior point guard Devin Turner added 14 points and three rebounds. Junior forward Rickquan Jones was Charlottesville’s third
“Blakey’s a great inside player, but he’s injured so we got to move on going forward,” Daquan Jones said. “[Tonight’s game] was a good team win; we were able to share the ball as a team and the shots were falling. We could have made more layups, but we crashed the boards and did great creating multiple opportunities.”
Western struggled with its confidence against the Black Knights throughout, playing a hostile environment.
“The biggest negative from this game is that our more experienced players didn’t come out for this game while, while some of our younger players did,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “When they pressured us, we crumbled, and [Charlottesville] really forced us to take tough shots.”
One bright spot for the Warriors was the play of sophomore guard Jahvon Shelton — a transfer from Charlottesville — whose acrobatic moves in the lane netted him 10 points.
“Jahvon looked good scoring tonight, but he still has a lot to learn. Driving to the lane is one of his strengths, but he has plenty more to work on. Our entire team, a young team, has plenty to work on.”
Western Albemarle must rebound from yesterday’s loss quickly, since they play at Albemarle today. Game time for today’s game is 6:00 pm.
Charlottesville plays at William Monroe next Friday.
