By Liz Keller / Scrimmageplay.com contributor
Albemarle employed a stingy defense and got a dominant performance from Jake Hahn as it came away with a road win over Fluvanna County on Tuesday night.
The Patriots’ full-court press ignited a first-quarter run and the visitors never looked back en route to the 62-46 victory.
Hahn led all scorers with 32 points and was instrumental in keeping the Flucos at bay in the second half as he hit timely shot after timely shot from the perimeter. The junior forward knocked down five 3-pointers in the game and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
“As a coach, I see a lot of things we need to improve on, but we got a pretty good lead and we just maintained it,” Albemarle coach Greg Maynard said. “I’ll give Fluvanna credit, they kept coming at us in the second half and we had to answer, which was mostly Jake Hahn. He stepped up and really played a good game for us.”
Albemarle broke to a 14-4 first-quarter lead as it picked up its intensity and got some easy baskets in transition.
The Patriots (3-1) continued to build on that lead in the second quarter behind some key shots from Hahn, who scored 10 in the frame. Hahn, who scored 51 points in three games last week for Albemarle, has had to shoulder more of the load so far this year with his post counterpart, Austin Katstra, out of the lineup due to injury (high ankle sprain).
“I was just feeling good and I took what I got,” Hahn said. “We started off really well and it kind of sparked a run for us at the beginning of the game which helped us out.”
Fluvanna opened the second half with a 9-4 run led by Antonio Pelham, but Hahn answered with a 3-pointer to take the wind out of the Flucos’ sails.
In fact, Hahn scored 11 straight points in the third as Albemarle continued to put the game out of reach.
Despite the loss, Fluvanna veteran coach Munro Rateau was pleased with the poise his team showed in the second half.
“We struggled with their pressure in the first half, but we were also 0-6 from the foul line and probably missed eight layups. I thought in the second half we played really well — probably the best we’ve played all year,” Rateau said. “That was important for us to get some confidence. In the second half, we made some of those shots and we made our free throws and that made a big difference for us.”
Justice Taylor also finished in double figures for Albemarle with 10 points, while Myles Adams-Yates added eight points, five assists and three steals. Senior guard Kennedy Brown finished with five assists and a pair of steals.
Pelham and Jay Amos tallied 13 points apiece for Fluvanna and Nick Washington contributed seven points.
Both teams are back in action today as Albemarle plays host to Patrick Henry (Roanoke) in its first home game of the season. Fluvanna entertains Waynesboro.
