Charlottesville comes up short

The last time Charlottesville faced Spotswood, the Black Knights played sloppy on offense and had no answer for Blazers guards Marlon Organ and Michael Glover.

While Charlottesville looked like a different team against Spotswood in the semifinals of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic, the end result was the same — this time, a 48-47 loss.

“We had our opportunities,” said Charlottesville coach Mitch Minor. “If we hit our free throws, we win the game. That’s the bottom line.”

Trailing by two points with four seconds remaining, Kevin Leatherwood drew a foul on the way to the basket as time expired to earn a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line. With a boisterous Blazers crowd screaming in his ear, Leatherwood was able to hit his first free throw, but his second hit the front of the rim.

“It wasn’t just that one play,” Minor said. “We had a lot of opportunities. We were taking the [3-point shot] instead of taking the layup.”

Free throws were a strong point for Charlottesville for the first three and a half quarters, but in the final two minutes, the Black Knights missed four of their six free throw attempts.

Carlos Romero wound up being the hero for Spotswood. The senior forward was quiet for most of the night, but he scored on the Blazers’ last two possessions and hit the game-winning basket on a post move in the paint.

“We didn’t look real pretty on offense,” said Spotswood coach Chad Edwards. “But a lot of times when two good teams play, that’s what you get. I thought you saw two good teams play defense and fortunately we were able to score one more point than them.”

It was a back and forth game in all four quarters. While Spotswood held the lead for almost all the second half, the Black Knights came out in the third quarter and played their most intense basketball of the game.

“We wanted to push whenever we could to take advantage of our speed and quickness,” Minor said. “At the same time I want us to be smart with the ball.”

The Black Knights had a three-headed offensive attack in Leatherwood, Maurice Jackson, and Omari Minor. All three finished with at least 11 points. Jackson led all scorers with 13 points.

Glover was the Blazers’ top offensive threat. The senior led his team with eleven points. Romero finished with 10.

In the first meeting between the teams, the Black Knights looked helpless on defense, but this time around, it was their biggest asset.

“The biggest adjustment they made is they played more zone,” Edwards said. “Their zone was effective in taking some of guys away.”

Adrian Thurston’s fourth-quarter defense helped to give Charlottesville a two-point lead with a minute and a half to play. The junior had four steals on the night, three of them coming in the final eight minutes.

Jackson’s aggression also played in a big part in keep Spotswood from scoring in the paint, but he fouled out with in the last three minutes of the game. As a result, a soft spot opened up for Romero down the stretch.

“We were reluctant to throw the ball [inside] and part of that was their tremendous quickness,” Edwards said. “We were back on our heels a bit, reluctant to throw that pass. Fortunately, we were able to deliver a good pass and Carlos was able to deliver a solid shot.”

Spotswood faces Albemarle in today’s final. The Patriots defeated Buckingham County 84-59 on Monday.