Nobody’s season was on the line Tuesday night. That comes next week.
But that did little to take the edge — or the fun — out of the fourth installment of basketball between Albemarle and Western Albemarle in the cross-county rivalry. This time, after three regular season defeats at the hands of Western, Albemarle edged the Warriors 62-59 in the Jefferson District semifinals.
“It was probably one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been a part of in playing 14 years of basketball,” said Albemarle freshman Austin Katstra. “It felt good to beat them.”
Katstra’s 21 points and eight rebounds helped ignite the Patriots, particularly as he carried Albemarle through the second quarter with 13 points during the frame. That effort helped AHS keep the game knotted at 32-32 going into the break.
In the second half, the Patriots built an 11-point lead at 47-38, and appeared in position to take control of the game after a rough 7-point offensive frame from Western. A heavy dose of Juwan Carter and Katstra who had five points each and stingy defense by Jordan Shelton, O’Brien Morton and Ryan Londree down low helped Albemarle build the advantage. Chase Stokes and Sam Chisholm combined for just 13 points, well off their normal output.
“We played really physical basketball tonight and earlier in the season when we played Western we weren’t physical enough,” said Albemarle coach Greg Maynard. “Defensively Jordan Shelton really played super on Stokes and then Ryan Londree and O’Brien Morton rotating on Chisholm. Our defense was really what held us in there.”
Western refused to go away though, and Jake Maynard stepped up in the fourth quarter with eight of his 18 points on the night including a pair of late 3-pointers, the last of which tied the game at 59-59 with 31 seconds to play.
On the ensuing possession, Albemarle milked the clock down to 10 seconds and called timeout. Cory Lesher took the ball hard down the lane and ended up drawing a foul with 3.9 seconds left to play. After Lesher hit his first free throw, he missed his second and Western appeared to get a chance to come up with the rebound and create a last second chance. But the ball bounced outside on a long rebound and Jordan Shelton corralled it, forcing Western to foul again with .6 seconds on the clock. Shelton hit both, and Western then attempted a full court pass. Katstra intercepted it and the final buzzer sounded.
“That was a great effort by Jordan, that’s what really sealed the game for us,” Katstra said.
It was a significant growth moment for the Patriots who lean heavily on Katstra and fellow freshman Jake Hahn. The win showed how much the Patriots have progressed and grown up this year, never faltering down the stretch.
“We haven’t been in too many close games,” Maynard said. “Against Western and Charlottesville they’ve pulled away from us other than the Christmas tournament against Charlottesville. It’s nice to get a good win in a close game.”
Maynard’s 18 points including four 3-pointers led Western in scoring. Eli Sumpter finished with 15 points, with 13 of those coming before the break.
In addition to Katstra’s 21 points, Albemarle had two other players in double figures with Lesher going for 11 and Juwan Carter scoring 16. Lesher also had five assists and three steals. Katstra had seven boards and Ryan Londree pulled down six rebounds. Jake Hahn had just four points on the night but all four came in the fourth quarter, leading the Patriots in that quarter.
Albemarle will face Charlottesville, weather permitting, Friday night while Western turns its attention to the Conference 29 tournament next week.
