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Albemarle boys survive Louisa County in JD semifinals

Photo by Bart Isley

Albemarle boys basketball’s J’Quan Anderson knew where he wanted to be with time winding down and the Patriots trailing Louisa County by a point in the Jefferson District semifinals.

 

“I told coach to put me on the side so I’d have time to penetrate,” Anderson said. “We ran one of our plays, and I got the ball up top with a full head of steam, so I just went straight to the rack.”

 

Anderson finished, putting the Patriots up with 12 seconds to play. The Patriots’ defense held from there with a rebound and a desperation three at the buzzer for the Lions that couldn’t find the mark. Top-seeded Albemarle beat the Lions 62-61, earning a spot in the Jefferson District championship game.

 

Anderson’s bucket finished off an incredible sequence that essentially brought the Patriots back from the dead. Down 62-59 and the ball in Louisa’s hands, Jake Hahn sprinted in from near midcourt as Albemarle was pressing the Lions and swiped the ball near the sidelines. He drove and couldn’t finish, but Austin Katstra snagged the rebound, finished and drew a foul. He missed the potential game-tying free throw, but the Patriots battled and the defense forced a five second call.

 

“At that moment in time it was just time to turn up,” Anderson said. “Jake Hahn got the stop on defense and that’s when it all clicked.”

 

That setup Anderson’s finish where the junior drove down down the middle of the lane, knifing through two defenders before hitting an awkward shot over the outstretched arms of two defenders.

 

“We’ve played a lot of close games in the last three years, and there was no panic, they just kept fighting,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “They made some key plays there and we got some contributions from a lot of players.”

 

It was a heartbreaking finish for the Lions, the No. 4 seed who’d shot well from beyond the arc all night (including a few from way outside) and put together a strong defensive effort against the Patriots. Chris Steppe rose to the occasion with 22 points including four 3-pointers while Malachi Poindexter hit four 3-pointers of his own and notched 16 points.

 

“It’s wonderful when you can make shots,” said Louisa coach Robert Shelton. “We work on that a lot, we shoot a lot of those shots in practice but we try and establish the inside. But it’s always good to have shooters that can shoot beyond the 3-point line a couple of steps.”

 

Up by three the Lions appeared to be in control until Hahn’s steal set off a chain of events where things unraveled. Louisa got two chances at an answer, but Anderson grabbed a rebound off an errant jumper and then Jarrett Hunter’s 3-pointer from near half court at the buzzer barely missed the mark.

 

“It was good to see guys playing hard and getting themselves ready for what we’re going to see in the conference,” Shelton said.

 

Katstra finished with 18 points and six rebounds while Hahn had 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists and the critical steal. Na’il Arnold scored 13 points for the Patriots. Anderson finished with just six points, but the late two was the difference. He also had five assists. Cartier Key chipped in four assists.

 

Being locked in a dogfight wasn’t exactly what Albemarle expected, but that challenge that came down to the wire could be a big help for the Patriots.

 

“I didn’t want it to come down like that but it’s good for us, we haven’t had a real tight game since Granby a few weeks ago,” Maynard said. “To win a tight game in a tournament situation can only help in the future.”

 

Albemarle will take on Charlottesville in the title game Friday while Louisa turns its attention now to conference tournament play next week.

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