Western Albemarle’s Jake Maynard didn’t hesitate.
He just rose, fired and buried the 3-pointer like he’s done any number of times before.
Only difference? This time it came with seven seconds left in the Jefferson District semifinals against Charlottesville High to put the Warriors up 51-50. A defensive stand on the next possession made Maynard’s bucket the game-winner.
“That was a great shot, he really pulled it together in the second half,” said Western’s Sam Chisholm, who’d put the Warriors on his back leading up to Maynard’s timely 3-pointer with a 19-point, 11-rebound outing. “He really stepped up for us.”
The Warriors intended for the first look on the play to be Chisholm to continue to take advantage of their height advantage underneath against the smaller Black Knights. But Chisholm couldn’t get open and neither could Chase Stokes, who’d absorbed the bulk of Charlottesville’s defensive attention all night and was held without a field goal the entire game. Stokes found Maynard with a short pass across the top of the key and Maynard made Charlottesville pay with the dagger.
“We wanted something on the block or the second part of it is designed to get a 3-pointer at the top and we ended up getting that,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “Chase sort of passed up a good one and flipped it over to Jake and he had the guts to shoot it and knock it down for us.”
The Warriors had to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit to get the job done Tuesday, as Charlottesville came out playing exactly how they should’ve — like their season was on the line. Darius Watson poured in 18 points before the break to ignite the early run by the Black Knights.
“In the first half, I’m a senior and I was like this might be my last game and I’m going to play hard for my team,” Watson said. “I know I’m an offensive threat so I’m going to get as many shots as I can and they happened to be going in tonight.”
The Warriors put defensive stopper Will Mason on Watson after the break to slow down the senior, and the Black Knights couldn’t find many other scoring options beyond Watson. Western quickly evened the game during the third quarter and the matchup entered the fourth deadlocked at 36-36. Western managed to take a 45-42 lead late in the fourth, but Charlottesville bounced back and 47-45 after a Caleb Gage putback. Eventually with the game tied at 48-48, Charlottesville’s Isaiah Green hit two free throws to push the Black Knights ahead and set the stage for Maynard’s heroics.
“I thought in the second half, we were a little impatient sometimes,” said Charlottesville coach Mitch Minor. “We had some good looks, we just didn’t put it in like we did in the first half. But I can’t say enough about the effort we played with the whole game.”
The defensive stand sealed it as time expired, with Brandt Berry and Maynard collapsing on Jordan Saylor at the top of the lane. Saylor couldn’t get off a decent shot or pass out of the trap and the game ended with Western likely sealing up the No.1 seed in the Region II, Division 3 tournament.
“We were double-teaming Darius, trying to keep him from ever getting the ball,” Darren Maynard said. “Then once it came in, the guy that was doubling went back to his man and then just try and play sound defense from there. We weren’t going to let (Watson) beat us.”
Jake Maynard had 19 points and three assists on the night for the Warriors to co-lead the scoring attack with Chisholm. While Stokes was held to just two points, well below the first-team All-Jefferson District honoree’s usual output, he managed nine rebounds and three steals. Jeremy Baruch had seven boards for the Warriors.
