Squaring off for the first time in a non-Jefferson District matchup in the semifinals of the Daily Progress Holiday Classic, Western Albemarle and Albemarle went punch for punch for 28 minutes. The last four, that was a different story. It was as if there was a lid on the basket for the Patriots and on the other end, the Warriors couldn’t miss a free throw. With the game tied going into the fourth it seemed unlikely that either team would get a double-digit lead, but Western did as it executed when it counted most with the Patriots freshman duo in foul trouble to pave the way to a 50-38 win.
“I thought our defense was just excellent but particularly in the fourth quarter,” said Warriors coach Darren Maynard. “Energy wise I think we came out a little flat but that was because of the hard game we had with Culpeper yesterday. But I thought from the second quarter on we played pretty well.”
With the game tied at 36 heading into the fourth, the game was tight was it was the previous three frames until the last four minutes of the game. A 16-0 run from Western from that point on, most of it at the free throw line with Eli Sumpter and Chase Stokes chipping in did the damage. On the other end, Albemarle got the ball down low seemingly every possession but couldn’t finish.
“We struggled to score and Western’s defense had a lot to do with that,” said Patriots coach Greg Maynard. “They had some big bodies in there and my freshman were both in foul trouble. I think they just wore us down. They’re experienced and they’re physical.”
The Patriots took at 13-9 lead in the first quarter, but that was about as much seperation as either team saw until late in the fourth with Western keeping pace to trim Albemarle’s lead to 24-23 going into the break.
“I thought we took it inside starting in the second quarter really well and that helped a lot to get them in some foul trouble,” Darren Maynard said.
The third quarter was a push with three points being the largest margin for both sides and the opposite answering immediately answering to make it a tie game heading into the strange fourth.
“We were just aggressive and weren’t loosing the ball when contact was made,” Sumpter said of the fourth quarter finish. “I had a few, Chase had a few, everybody had a few so we all were able to contribute.”
Western had a balanced approach offensively with Stokes leading the way with 13 points, Sumpter with 12 and Jake Maynard adding 11.
Albemarle’s freshman duo lead the way with Jake Hohn scoring 11 points while fellow freshman Austin Katstra had 10 points.
Western faces STAB in the tourney final at home at 8:15 p.m. while Albemarle faces Charlottesville in the third place game at 4:45 p.m., also at Western.
