By Logan Riddick / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Myles Adams-Yates drained a go-ahead three with 3:29 remaining and Austin Katstra converted five of his final six free throws to preserve the lead as Albemarle topped Culpeper 61-54 on day one of the 2014 Daily Progress/NBC 29 Holiday Basketball Classic.
The Patriots opened a 13-8 lead in the early moments of the second quarter on a two-hand slam by Katstra. From there, Culpeper deployed a half-court trap with its zone defense to quicken the pace.
“They were walking it up, and we just went to the trap to try and get the tempo up,” said Culpeper coach James Thompson Jr. “We got a few breakaway layups. [Albemarle] was really tough to crack once they got set in their half-court defense, so that’s why we went to the trap. We got some offense off our defense.”
Anfernee Pendleton hit back-to-back threes on the offensive end to ignite a 16-1 run before Albemarle coach Greg Maynard called a full timeout with 2:59 before the break.
“I just got on them about not playing our game, not taking it strong inside,” said Maynard. “When they went to the press, it sped us up. In the zone, we were settling for shots we shouldn’t have been taking. We did enough in the last three minutes to get back in the game.”
Out of the timeout, Katstra scored inside to spark a 7-0 response by Albemarle, which trimmed Culpeper’s lead to 27-26 at halftime. The teams traded short spurts for most of the third. With Maynard limiting standout forward Jake Hahn’s action due to early fouls, guards Juwan Carter and Kennedy Brown picked up the scoring with five points each in the quarter.
“[Brown] really had a super second half, not only the scoring but no turnovers,” Maynard said. “He got the ball to the right spot. He settled down and didn’t let the press get him rattled.”
Senior Anthony Ford’s steal and lay-in put the Blue Devils ahead 45-42 entering the fourth. Culpeper maintained a one-point lead as the clock ticked under four minutes, but then Adams-Yates and Katstra poured in the decisive points.
“They had a ton of free throws,” said Thompson, as Albemarle made 30 trips to the line compared to Culpeper’s 13, though the Patriots made only 16 (53%) on the night. “If they had hit their free throws early, they probably could have had us down by 20.”
Katstra led Albemarle with a double-double, including a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Carter added 13 points and four steals before fouling out in with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. Adams-Yates rounded out the Patriots’ double-digit scorers with 10.
Luther Gibbs led Culpeper with 21 points. Senior forward Jermaine Butler added 10 and a game-high 13 rebounds.
“Their size was killing us on the glass,” said Thompson. “We tried to go zone to help our big man rebound, but our guard play let us down tonight.”
With the new format in this year’s Holiday Classic, the three out-of-town participants rotate their match-ups with the three participating city/county schools. Therefore, when action resumes Monday at Albemarle, the Blue Devils will take on Western at 3:30, while Albemarle faces JEB Stuart in the third game scheduled for 7:00.
