By Allen J. Kha / ScrimmagePlay.com contributor
With 5:50 remaining in the fourth quarter and Colonial Forge leading Albemarle by a point — the Eagles’ first lead in over three quarters of play — one couldn’t tell that the game pitted two schools on the opposite side of the Commonwealth District standings. The crowd in the Patriots’ home gymnasium was buzzing and boisterously stomping on its feet to decibel levels perhaps unheard at the nearby John Paul Jones Arena, while fans from both schools were trash-talking back and forth about their team’s chances of winning.
In the next two minutes, Albemarle and Colonial Forge frantically swapped baskets until both teams were knotted at 45-45 with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. Both teams buckled down defensively from that point — blocking shots, grabbing steals, and forcing turnovers and bad shots — and neither team could score for the remaining time in regulation.
“The crowd really made the difference tonight. It was truly wonderful to see,” Albemarle coach Greg Maynard said. “We’ve been through two overtime games this season — we lost those two — and tonight just felt different; we were going to win tonight and the crowd is a huge reason why.”
Led by junior forward Andrew Mann’s stellar 27-point performance, the Patriots pulled through in overtime 58-55. Colonial Forge traded baskets with Albemarle all the way until the 0:1.5-mark in overtime, when the Eagles had to intentionally foul after missing a shot on their offensive possession trailing 56-55. After junior forward Jeremiah Morris hit two free throws to extend the Patriots’ lead to three points, Colonial Forge’s inbounds pass was intercepted and the game soon ended.
After the excitement of Albemarle’s victory — one that compelled the students in attendance to rush the court — Maynard noted how appreciative he was with his team’s complete performance.
“Andrew Mann was just superb tonight, scoring 27 points and grabbing 19 rebounds — that’s amazing and he was the key to our success. But I really credit our entire team for stepping up tonight. We hit plenty of key shots and made the players we had to, especially when they started focusing on Andrew,” Maynard said.
Albemarle held North Carolina football-commit and Colonial Forge senior guard Tim Scott to 12 points and didn’t allow any other players to reach double-figures in points.
“We played defense tonight — that was really the key,” Mann said. “We’d like to think that even with the season getting near the end, that we have a chance to move up in league and play in the postseason. That’s what it’s all about.”
