Albemarle High’s balance is getting to be a bit scary. On any given night, any of at least five players can lead the way for the Patriots, and that’s going to give opponents in the Commonwealth District fits.
In fact, it already is.
Albemarle avenged an early season loss to North Stafford Tuesday night, winning 70-66 behind a balanced offensive effort led by Andrew Mann with 18 points, running Albemarle’s current win streak to five in a row.
“We didn’t play near as well defensively as we have,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “But we’re executing offensively and that pulled us through tonight.”
And while the defense struggled, it was a timely defensive play turned the tide.
The Patriots managed to piece together a five-point lead late in the fourth, but Darius Paramore, North Stafford’s lightning quick guard, buried a key 3-pointer with 53.9 seconds left on the clock, pulling the Wolverines within two points. Paramore then came up with a steal on the defensive end and, on a breakaway appeared set to give North Stafford the lead.
Daiquan West, Albemarle’s own speedy guard, ran Paramore down from behind and poked the ball loose right in front of the baseline before redirecting it back onto the court where Jake Hendrix collected it. After North Stafford committed a quick foul to put Albemarle on the line, Wolverines coach Brad Lear was hit with a technical foul that eventually gave the Patriots a six-point lead.
“That guy was two steps ahead of him and he didn’t give up, he kept hustling,” Maynard said. “That’s the determination that this team has and eventhough we didn’t handle the ball very well, the hustle play paid off.”
West and Mayn Francisco dished out five assists each in the victory. While West, Francisco, Andrew Frazier and Rashad Talley all notched around 10 points each, it was sophomore Lee Carneal who stood out, with eight points including the final free throw for the Patriots that gave them the 70-66 advantage with five seconds to play.
“He really gives us some valuable minutes,” Maynard said. “He played extremely well tonight and that’s a big lift. We get that from a lot of our bench players.”
Frazier had a solid bucket in the closing seconds of the third quarter that gave Albemarle a 3-point lead going into the final frame.
Paramore poured in 15 points for the Wolverines while Gary Boone led the way with 20.
Albemarle hits the road Friday to take on Mountain View High in another Commonwealth district matchup.
