Both Albemarle coach Greg Maynard and standout power forward Austin Katstra used the same two words to describe how the Patriots felt after last week’s loss to Western Albemarle.
“Disappointed and frustrated,” both said separately.
The Patriots channeled it well.
Katstra in particular played like a man possessed as Albemarle beat Western Albemarle 66-44 in the Jefferson District semifinals Tuesday night at Charlottesville High.
Katstra unleashed a dominant performance with 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, exploding against a defense that had given him fits in their first two meetings.
“We really just wanted to come out and put it to them,” Katstra said. “Our defense was really, really good in the first quarter and we just continued that throughout that game.”
Katstra also spearheaded a defense adjustment to a 1-3-1 zone that created problems for a Western team that had beaten Albemarle twice during the regular season.
“We came out with a lot of determination from the start tonight that we were going to move the ball and get good shots and get everybody involved and play great team defense,” Maynard said. “We did both of those things from the start. I thought that was the big key is we jumped out on them.”
The Patriots leapt out to a 22-6 lead in the first quarter, with a big spark coming from a pair of Juwan Carter 3-pointers, and Western never recovered. Jake Hahn finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, Carter with 14 and Myles Adams-Yates also notched 11 points to go with five assists.
The victory exorcised some demons for the Patriots but it also gave them a needed spark as they prepare for next week’s Conference 16 tournament.
“I think it definitely does,” Katstra said. “I think we saw how we can play really good defense and that’ll definitely give us confidence going into the conference tournament.”
Western couldn’t find a rhythm offensively throughout, and only Carrington Murphy managed to claw his way into double figures, notching 10 points. Michael Vale and Josh Casteen each had six points.
The Patriots will face Charlottesville Friday at CHS in the Jefferson District final while Western will turn its attention to the Conference 29 tournament that starts next week.
