Knights roll past Hornets in regional finals

ALBEMARLE — This week has been all about attack mode for Charlottesville High.

“I’ve learned over the past couple of games that if we attack and run off [the] defensive [end] then we can beat anybody,” said Charlottesville point guard Omari Minor. “And that’s what we tried to do tonight—just get out and run.”

That attack mentality started with Minor on the fastbreak, and the senior put together a monster game as the Black Knights rolled past Jefferson District tournament champion Orange County 72-42 in the Division 4, Region II final. Minor flirted with triple double territory, finishing with 23 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

In the first half, Minor had 15 points and five assists as Charlottesville built an insurmountable 41-17 advantage.

“This is the second game he came out big for us,” said Charlottesville’s Maurice Jackson. “Omari just came out excellent—driving the ball, pushing the ball. In the [Jefferson] tournament we couldn’t push on Orange, but this time we did.”

Charlottesville (19-5) exacted some revenge with the win over the Hornets, the squad that knocked them out of the Jefferson District tournament in the semifinals with a 71-63 victory.

“We swore to ourselves that we wouldn’t let that happen again,” Minor said.
It didn’t largely because Minor was near unstoppable from the opening tip. He was relentless in the lane, driving for lay-ups or making quick dishes to the Black Knights’ forwards Terrence Briggs or James Thompson.

Charlottesville finished without a single 3-pointer, just days after pouring on eight against Loudoun County in the Region II semifinals, which was a testament to Minor’s ability to work at will in the paint.

“He did a wonderful job,” said Charlottesville coach Mitch Minor. “People have a hard time keeping him in front if he really makes up his mind to go to the hole.”

The Black Knights threw together a triangle-and-two defense, gearing up to stop Quintin Hunter and D.J. Brown. The strategy worked well, as the tandem combined for just nine points. Hunter managed just a single bucket after scoring 28 against Broad Run in the regional semifinal.

“It was very effective,” said Orange coach Keyode Rogers. “The play was designed to get the other kids [outside Brown and Hunter] involved and we did. The shots were open we just didn’t knock them down so that made the zone very effective.”

Travis Braxton and Wayne Wright led Orange with 12 points each.

Charlottesville also held a huge advantage on the boards, outrebounding Orange by a ratio of nearly 2:1. Briggs and Thompson led the way there with 10 and nine respectively. Thompson also finished with 10 points. Jackson knocked in 12.

Rashad Shelton had a nice game off the bench for the Black Knights, totaling 10 points and seven rebounds.

Kevin Leatherwood, who Jackson said was feeling a little better than he did when he played with the flu against Loudoun on Thursday, had five rebounds and four points.

Charlottesville will take on Tabb in the state quarterfinals while Orange will take on Courtland, a school they played twice early in the season, losing in both contests. Sites, dates and times for both schools are currently still being determined.