Charlottesville boys basketball has had a bunch of wild games and some certified heartbreakers this year as they’ve navigated the year with a roster that has rarely been complete.
The Black Knights’ clash with Orange County Tuesday night had the potential to fit that heartbreaker tag too, but with a pair of 30-point performances by Polo Hill and Keyshawn Hill, Charlottesville persevered in triple overtime 84-82 to snag a huge win at home.
Those huge offensive outputs helped the Black Knights overcome a 43-point, 20-rebound monster double double by J.J. Macdonald for the Hornets.
After the game ended tied at 56-56 in regulation, Charlottesville found itself down two in the first overtime before Keyshawn Hill tied it with a tough bucket in the lane with seconds to play and Orange couldn’t answer to end it in regulation. After the second OT ended in a deadlock too, Charlottesville went up 83-79 with seconds to play on two made free throws by Polo Hill. Orange answered immediately as Macdonald drove to the rim, finished and drew a foul. The Hornets grabbed the ensuing miss on the free throw and Chase Rollins powered up and drew the foul. He hit his second of two free throws to make it 83-82. Orange fouled Sebastian Krebs on the other end who connected on one free throw to make it 84-82 and Orange couldn’t find the go ahead or the equalizer on the other end as Charlottesville’s defense held up.
Both teams traded huge quarters in the first half, with Charlottesville jumping out 20-13 before Orange got back on track and took a 33-32 lead into halftime. Both squads played nearly dead even in the second half but Polo Hill found a rhythm in the fourth that carried over into the three overtime periods where he scored nine of the Black Knights 20 points while Keyshawn Hill, who also had 11 rebounds for a double double, scored eight of the 20 in extra time.
Aidan Yates had 15 points for the Black Knights.
Destin Bray finished with 16 points and nine boards for Orange and Sheldon Robinson notched a double double with 10 points and 10 boards while Rollins also had a strong night with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Charlottesville will try and keep things rolling when they head across town to take on Monticello Wednesday while Orange gets a short break before taking on Albemarle at home Friday night.
