Blue Ridge also got a boost from junior center Martins Abele, who added 17 points and 11 boards. The 7-foot-1, 295-pound Latvian is undoubtedly a welcome presence inside.

The Patriots’ swim teams pulled off a sweep at the City/County Challenge, with the boys team running away with a victory while the girls squad held off a strong challenge from Western Albemarle to come away with the title.

However, Cronk’s victory wasn’t enough to take down the Patriots in the team standings. Western had a strong start to the night, but Albemarle crept back out in front to win by 27 points at UVa’s Aquatic and Fitness Center.

The Black Knights exacted a little revenge in the fifth-place game of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic, coming away with a 46-43 victory in the Patriots’ gym that wasn’t secure until the final moments.

Buckingham was able to roll with the punches for the first quarter, but in the second and third quarters Albemarle flexed their muscle to move on to tonight’s championship game against Spotswood after dispatching the Knights 84-59.

After falling to Orange County in the first round of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic on Saturday, Albemarle looked to bounce back against Culpeper in its second game of the tournament.

The Patriots (5-4) pressed the Little Giants (1-5) into submission, racking up 10 steals as a team in an 81-32 walkover in the first round of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic.

There was time left — 3.3 seconds, to be exact — and Green’s shot gave the Hornets the 52-51 victory as Albemarle’s Tamika Lewis missed on a 15-foot jumper as time expired.

It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is upon us, and that means area basketball teams are gearing up for the NBC29/The Daily Progress Holiday Classic.

It was a long weekend for the Monticello boys basketball team, but after Monday’s game against the Patriots, the Mustangs finally have something to feel good about.

Albemarle was unable to recover, and faltered down the stretch as the Wildcats won convincingly, 56-36.

Albemarle held a double-digit lead in the third quarter and held off a late Western Albemarle rally to hold on for a 42-39 victory over the Warriors on Saturday afternoon.

The Patriots used a pair of back-to-back open-court slams from Andre Roberts and Cameron Anderson in overtime to finally put away a resilient Colonial Forge squad 68-58 in the Patriots’ Commonwealth District home opener. 

It’s early in the season, but after just three games, the Albemarle girls basketball team is getting tired of facing talented guard-center duos.

The Albemarle girls basketball team outhustled and outplayed Charlottesville for three of four quarters on Friday night and earned its just reward.