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Western pulls away from Covenant

Christian Asher brought the energy, Ben Turner brought the scoring and Will Donnelly brought the steady hand and resolve as Western Albemarle’s boys basketball team pulled away from Covenant in the fourth quarter to grab a 72-59 win and the Hoops for Hope Tip-Off Tournament title.

Ben Turner missed long periods of the game with four trouble, but when he got going, he started carrying the Western offense, pouring in 23 points. Asher sparked Western on defense with a trio of blocks and nine rebounds, a couple of which were crucial in the last two minutes. He had a strong all-around night too, finishing with 13 points as well.

“I thought Christian Asher played great all night,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “His energy level really gives us an added dimension.”

Western went on an 11-0 run during the early stages of the final frame to take control with Donnelly coming off the bench to handle the point guard duties during the stretch. Jake Nidiffer had four of the points during the explosion while Turner scored four himself. Asher added another bucket on a hard drive to the basket that put Western up by nine points after the Warriors trailed 53-48.

Donnelly had just a single turnover at point guard and came up with four steals defensively to lead Western in that category.

“The biggest part of this game was breaking the press and he did a phenomenal job of that,” Turner said. “I was very happy with that — he’s one of the biggest reason we won this game.”

Covenant’s Maleek Frazier tried to will the Eagles to a win, pouring in 25 points, doing his most damage by drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line where he was 11-for-14. Foul trouble limited two of Covenant’s other key cogs, Isaac Stewart-Silver and Terrance Briggs. Briggs and Stewart-Silver finished with seven points each.

“The momentum was swinging our way but you’ve just got to give them a lot of credit,” said Covenant coach Ben D’Alessandro. “We played hard, really hard. We played together. We did not play smart, we didn’t adjust.”

Western enters Jefferson District play Tuesday with a battle at home against William Monroe while Covenant hosts Tandem Friends Tuesday night.

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Headlines

Western pulls away from Covenant

Western Albemarle knows what it’s going to get from Christian Pierce and Dante Crawford most nights, and sophomore Travis Hester is becoming more and more of a reliable, known quantity.

But the Warriors bench has been, well, a question mark.

Tuesday night against Covenant, Ben Jackson and Adam Diehl helped provide a couple of answers.

The junior duo came off the bench and did enough so that Hester’s 20 points and Pierce’s 15 carried the Warriors to a 62-51 victory over a Covenant squad that beat a tough Spotswood squad Monday night in the first round of the Holiday Classic. Jackson knocked home nine points, eight of which came during a critical second quarter stretch, and Diehl gave the Warriors a steady hand at the point, freeing Pierce up at times to operate away from the ball.

“I think our bench is starting to come around a little bit,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “(Diehl) is a big part of that and Ben Jackson — we’re starting to get some contributions from some people.”

Despite the Warriors’ best efforts though, Covenant made a strong move in the third quarter after a Pierce 3-pointer put the Eagles down by eight points. Isaac Stewart-Silver buried a 3-pointer of his own and a Maleek Frazier steal in the backcourt led to a Sam Dale bucket, then Dale hit two foul shots to pull Covenant within a point.

Hester cut the Covenant run short with an offensive board and basket where he drew a foul for a 3-point play. Then Diehl scored and Pierce had a stickback, quickly pushing the Western advance back to eight. Covenant managed to hang around from there, but a Hester 3-pointer with 2:35 to play again gave Western control and an eight-point advantage. Hester’s four steals also played a big role defensively for the Warriors.

“There were just too many mistakes,” said Covenant coach Ben D’Alessandro. “I felt like mentally we were there, I was real proud of the effort. But you’ve got to give Western a lot of credit they make you pay for their mistakes.”

Pierce finished with 10 rebounds to complete a double double. Jake Nidiffer, a junior forward, had nine points and eight rebounds, just missing a double double of his own. Jackson’s performance stood out though, as his nine points made up for Crawford being stuck on the bench with foul trouble.

“We’ve been looking for somebody to come off the bench and help us in the post,” Maynard said. “He’s got some offensive skills — he’s good enough to put it in the basket. He made a couple of nice pump fakes to get some fouls.”

Covenant struggled against the Warriors’ taller lineup, and had to contend with the relentless Cody Davis guarding Dale, who had 30 points against Spotswood, most of the night. Davis gave up a couple of inches to the Eagles’ standout but managed to deny him the ball and prevent Dale from getting many easy baskets. Dale finished with 13 points.

Nathan Hyde, a 6-foot-6 Covenant forward, played well for the Eagles and finished with 12 points.

“He stepped up — the lights were on and he was ready to play,” D’Alessandro said. “He did all the little things.”

Covenant takes on Charlottesville in the third place game today while Western lines up for the third time against Albemarle in the title tilt.

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