Strong start propels Western boys to JD final

In what could be described as a playoff atmosphere, the Western Albemarle boys basketball team cruised past visiting Monticello, 73-62, in the semifinals of the Jefferson District tournament on Wednesday night.

The Warriors wasted little time asserting themselves in the first quarter. Western scored the first 14 points of the game, setting the tone for the rest of the contest. The Mustangs never fully recovered.

“We wanted to start well but that was a little beyond my wildest dreams,” Western Albemarle coach Darren Maynard said. “We came to play tonight. I think our kids were upset about some things that happened there a week and a half ago and some other things. We wanted to make a statement tonight.”

The Mustangs responded with a 15-5 run to close the first quarter and were within striking distance for a short time. Ben Turner scored six of his 10 points in the second quarter and the Warriors stretched its lead back to double digits at the half.

Western delivered the knockout punch in the third quarter. The Warriors stormed out of the locker room and went on a 12-4 run to stretch its lead to 18. Western clamped down on defense and held the Mustangs to just five points the third.

“Coach said that was the time to take them out of the game,” Western point guard Will Donnelly said. “We came out like we started and just gave it [our] all.”

The Mustangs attempted to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter. Monticello nearly doubled its point total in the final eight minutes and slowly began to cut into the Warriors’ lead. Western answered with Parker Morris. Every time the Mustangs would trim the lead, Morris would answer with a timely bucket.

“We were pushing it,” said Morris, who led the Warriors with 20 points. “They kicked it back to me and I had the open shot and I made it.”

In addition to Morris’ big night, four other Warriors reached double figures. Chase Stokes netted 15 points, Donnelly scored 12 while Ben Turner and Austin Ellis each added 10. Denzel Terry led Monticello with 18 points, and Jhalil Mosley added 14.

“We all got real fired up and we really wanted to beat them,” Morris said. “They had that [makeup] game so their players weren’t suspended, so we got real fired up about that.”

The Warriors move on to the Jefferson District Championship game to face Charlottesville. Western won the previous three meetings with the Black Knights this season, but CHS has won five games in a row and is the hottest team in the district.

“We’ve played them real well the first three times,” Maynard said. “They’re really talented and really athletic. Everybody says its really hard to beat a good team three times, I don't know what they say about four times.”