By Drew Goodman / Scrimmageplay.com contributor
Having a versatile and deep frontcourt has usually been a staple of Western Albemarle’s boys basketball program for the past two decades-plus.
A strong proponent of using all of the depth that he has night in and night out, it is common for head coach Darren Maynard to constantly make mass substitutions in order to have fresh legs in the post at all times.
On Friday night against Orange County, it was sophomore Thomas Mangrum and senior Jed Strickland’s turn to set the tone underneath.
The efficient duo of Mangrum and Strickland combined for 35 points in Western’s 66-53 triumph over the visiting Hornets.
Western Albemarle (9-3) led wire to wire and by as many as 20 in the first half.
Mangrum tallied nine of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, with all four of his field goals come inside the lane. The sophomore also pulled down eight rebounds in the winning effort.
Along with Mangrum’s big night, the Hornets had to account for his fellow six-foot-three stalwart, Strickland in the post. Strickland had a productive night across the board, registering 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals, and a pair of assists.
In addition to their offensive output, Strickland and Mangrum did an exceptional job of keeping Orange star big man KaeShaun Braxton in check for the majority of the contest. One of the district’s leading scorers and typically a matchup nightmare in the post, Braxton managed just six points, as Strickland and Mangrum rarely let him touch the ball inside the lane.
“I thought they did an excellent job on Braxton,” Maynard said of his frontcourt duo. “Mangrum started out with him and Strickland had him a lot too … They held him to six, and I know he’s averaging in the 20s, so that was fantastic.”
Mangrum and Strickland were the stat-stuffers, but Western got a host of contributions up and down the roster in Friday’s win. Nine different Warriors touched the score sheet and each of them seemed to step up at different times throughout the contest.
Junior guard Gabe Nafziger came off of the bench to register 10 points, with eight of them taking place during Western Albemarle’s 15-0 run late in the first half. In addition to his double-digit scoring night, Nafiziger performed a number of tasks that did not show up on the stat sheet and stood tall to draw three charge calls during his time on the court.
“I thought Nafziger gave us a nice lift in the second quarter,” Maynard said. “He’s played really well the last few games. He’s on a little hot streak shooting the ball, and his energy level really helps us out. He’s starting to feel comfortable out there on the court.”
The offense was hot-and-cold for Western, but the Warriors were able to maintain a double-digit advantage for much of the night thanks to their effort on the defensive end. Using a nice combination of full-court pressure, intense half-court traps, and some zone mixed in, Western Albemarle constantly forced the Hornets into tough shots, Orange endured several long dry spells as a result.
Whether it was forcing a turnover as soon as the Hornets crossed midcourt or drawing a timely charge, Maynard was happy with what his defense was doing for the bulk of the contest.
“I thought until late in the game we played really good defense,” Maynard said. “We got a little too spread out later and [Orange] made some shots… Give them a lot of credit for playing the whole way through. They’ve certainly made some improvements from last year to this year.”
Orange County (7-7) fell behind 9-2 early on, but managed to trim the deficit to just five moments later. Unfortunately for the Hornets, some cold shooting mixed with foul trouble for both Braxton and Jaylen Alexander prevented the visitors from sustaining much success offensively for much of the first half.
Senior Jordan Shook knocked down four three pointers and did all that he could to keep Orange County within striking distance, but Orange head coach Adam Utz was forced to rely on others outside of his big three in order for his team to close the gap.
With Braxton and Alexander riding the bench with four fouls, the Hornet reserves helped Orange slowly, but surely trim the deficit in the second half. Junior guard Korelle Brown got hot in the second half and finished with 11 big points.
Reserve guard Marshall Williby notched five points in the third quarter, including a momentum-turning three, which helped spark a late scoring surge for the Hornets. Orange engineered a strong 10-4 run to start the fourth quarter and trimmed the deficit to single digits on two separate occasions.
By the time Braxton and Alexander were ready to check back in the game, thanks to Brown and the scrappy reserves, what looked to be a blowout turned into a much more competitive battle.
“That’s what we talk about all the time is guys getting ready and up to the plate. I thought we did a great job of getting guys to step up tonight,” Utz said. “A couple of guys that haven’t gotten a lot of minutes all year, they played more minutes than they might play all season, and for those guys to step up, I think that really kept us in the game.”
For every Hornet answer the fourth quarter though, Mangrum was there to provide a buffer on the other end to allow WAHS to walk away with a comfortable win when it was all said and done.
Western Albemarle will host Louisa in a pivotal Jefferson District matchup on Tuesday night, while the Hornets will look for the season sweep of Monticello on January 9 as well.
