TUESDAY MORNING SHOOTAROUND: Jefferson hoops race starts to take shape

With Charlottesville, Orange County and Western Albemarle all sitting at 2-0, the race for the Jefferson District boys title may already be shaking out a bit.

All three teams have quality district wins, with Western and Charlottesville both knocking off William Monroe and Orange besting Monticello. All three have reliable guards and one or two go-to scorers — Quintin Hunter at Orange, Kevin Leatherwood and Maurice Jackson at Charlottesville and Christian Pierce and Travis Washington at Western.

Based just on those two facts, all three have to be looked at as legitimate contenders for the title.

But who else can make some noise? William Monroe and Monticello both could certainly still factor into the mix. And while it’s certainly not time to panic for either team, key matchups in this week’s slate of games will help determine if either team is ready to challenge for a title.

Monticello hopes to make a midseason push after getting some football players in hoops shape, but in a balanced Jefferson, the Mustangs don’t want to get too far in a hole. They smashed Louisa County late last week, and now a matchup with Western looms this Friday. If Monticello can get a win in Crozet — and with Hines Banks and Mark Brady running the backcourt, they could — they’ll certainly be right in the thick of the district race. If Western wins, the Warriors will have a strong leg up early in the Jefferson.

For William Monroe, things are starting to get a little more interesting. The Dragons had a strong outing at their own Christmas tournament, blowing out Group AAA Atlee 80-50, but they couldn’t keep the momentum going against Western Albemarle on Saturday night, losing 58-37 to the Warriors on the road. Tonight, Monroe travels to Orange, and a loss there would put the Dragons at 1-3 in the Jefferson, putting their backs against the wall early.

Needless to say, everyone will know a lot more about the Jefferson after this week as the teams continue to separate themselves.

CHS girls are 2-0

Charlottesville’s girls basketball team picked up a quality win over Fluvanna County on Friday to improve to 2-0 in the Jefferson District. The Black Knights handed the Flying Flucos (10-1, 1-1), who have been on a tear to start the season, their first loss. CHS is the only team that is unbeaten so far in district play — Fluvanna County, Orange County, Western Albemarle and William Monroe have one loss apiece.

But the two wins haven’t come easily for the defending district and region champs — Charlottesville downed William Monroe 48-43 in December and edged Fluvanna 49-41. Against the Flucos, Shalita Brown, the district’s top player last season, left the game with an ankle injury. In her absence, senior guard Shawntae Payne stepped up, pouring in 25 points to lift her team to the win. If Brown is unable to play this week, it could mean trouble for Charlottesville, as there is no doubt that teams will be keying on Payne. And besides the two senior leaders, the Black Knights haven’t had another consistent scorer this year.

CHS, which beat Tandem Friends 51-33 at home on Monday, gets a couple of tests on the road this week. The team travels to Louisa County today and visits Orange County on Friday in what will be a key district matchup. The talented Hornets have several veteran members back from a squad that finished as the district runner-up a year ago.

Fluvanna, another district title contender, also has a tough week, as it travels to Western Albemarle tonight and will entertain William Monroe on Friday.

Tune-up time for Miller and Blue Ridge

One of the area’s must-see high school matchups is just a week away, and in what has to be a coincidence, both teams will play Hargrave Military Academy this week before locking up.

Blue Ridge takes on the Cadets today before facing Liberty Christian later in the week, while Miller takes on Hargrave on Friday. That common opponent this close to the tilt should give fans some insight into how the teams stack up, but no matter how things look it should be a fantastic contest at the Miller School. More on this game next week.

Saints coming together?

St. Anne’s-Belfield seems to have rediscovered the offensive balance that was so key to the Saints’ success last year, and it’s paying off in some big wins.

The Saints knocked off St. Stephen’s-St. Agnes 65-58 Saturday, using a 20-12 third quarter to pull ahead. Four Saints had nine or more points in the win, with Brett Goodloe pouring in 24, Mark Terrell finishing with 14, Alex Asher knocking in 14 and Bryan Lynch chipping in nine. When the Saints’ first five — those four plus Quincey September — are on, most anyone is going to struggle with St. Anne’s. The tough part for the Saints is that the road to a Division II state title goes through Atlantic Shores Christian and Miller — teams that are also loaded with talent.