Preps Plus

William Monroe’s boys basketball team wasn’t particularly consistent, but the Dragons did enough Friday night, on short rest, to end a critical three-game stretch on a high note, holding off Orange County for a 64-51 victory on senior night.
The win gives Monroe back-to-back victories after the Dragons knocked off Western Albemarle Thursday, and makes it two out of three after a loss to Charlottesville last week. Monroe is now in the thick of the Jefferson race with just two games left on the docket.
“Obviously you want to win all three of them, but realistically, if you can get two out of three, those are three very good basketball teams,“ Maynard said. “We’ll take that.“
Andy Brown had a steady game at the point for Monroe, coming up big down the stretch with a series of crucial rebounds and assists. He finished with 14 points, a team-high six rebounds and two steals.
His 14 points tied him for the team lead with Mike Roach and Mike Wims. All three of Roach’s field goals were 3-pointers, and the senior did a good job of directing the Dragons down the stretch, keeping Monroe focused during periods where it was struggling. He also had three assists and three steals.
“We haven’t backed down at all and I’m really proud of that,“ said Monroe coach Mike Maynard. “They were a little beat playing two days in a row, but I’m proud of how hard they worked.“
Monroe sophomore Desmon Shaver also performed well, finishing with 13 points and four boards.
Orange struggled in the opening quarter when the Dragons jumped out to a 12-5 lead, but the Hornets hit their stride in the second quarter and took a two-point lead into halftime. Disaster appeared to strike during that second frame though when Quintin Hunter picked up his second and third fouls before the break.
“It’s very frustrating,“ said Orange coach Keyode Rogers. “I told him coming out there that we were going to sit him as long as we could and we hung in there pretty well.“
That the Hornets did. With some crucial buckets by D.J. Brown and a steady hand from freshman point guard Tyler Seal, Orange still led by a bucket at the end of the third. Brown and Seal each finished with 15 points.
But an Andy Brown 3-pointer at the end of that third frame gave Monroe the momentum and Hunter’s return couldn’t stop the 9-0 Monroe run that opened the fourth. Shortly after the run, Hunter picked up two quick fouls, relegating him to the bench for the rest of the night. D.J. Brown picked up his own fifth a few minutes later, leaving the Hornets without much firepower to fuel a miracle comeback.
“You expect a good game coming in here,“ Rogers said. “They played very well, they’ve very aggressive. They were the aggressor tonight.“
Hunter still finished the night with four steals and three blocks despite sitting huge stretches of the game.