The Albemarle Patriots - ranked #5 in the state in Group 5A to begin the 2016-17 campaign and fresh off a trip to the Final Four at VCU last season - knew that Tuesday night's opponent would pose some challenges for them.

In came the Louisa Lions, a squad that won its opener 73-59 over Caroline with a 24-8 third quarter spurt. To get to 3-0, Albemarle would need its defense to be able to answer the call.

With the game hanging in the balance as the Patriots led just 32-30 early in the third quarter after a technical foul, Albemarle went on an 18-0 blast to put things out of reach and take control on their way to a satisfying 66-38 victory in front of the home fans.

Albemarle, which opened the season by beating Culpeper 81-39 and Patrick Henry 59-40, put three scorers in double-figures. Senior forward Austin Katstra, a First Team All-State selection a season ago, had 19 points and six rebounds.

Another senior forward that earned All-State recognition last year, Jake Hahn, added 14 points and eight rebounds. Katstra was 7-of-13 from the field, while Hahn converted 5-of-9 field goal tries. Both began the game by hitting three-pointers.

Though the Patriots didn't have their best shooting night from long distance, just 4-of-17 by game's end, helping them keep Louisa from going in front before the half or in the third period was the energy and hustle provided by guard J'Quan Anderson. The junior and two-sport athlete who also excels on the football field finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, a pair of assists and two steals.

Supporting cast parts Maxx Jarmon and Na'il Arnold chipped in nine and eight points, respectively. Katstra found Jarmon for a three-pointer before the half to give Albemarle a 30-20 lead at the break.

During the second half, the Lions were unable to get many shots away from the basket to drop. In fact, Louisa shot just 6-of-33 from the field (18.2%) in the second half. Nine different Louisa players scored, but only one reached in double-digits and that was sophomoe guard Malachi Poindexter with 14 points.

Poindexter bunched all of those in the game's first 19 minutes and was held without field goal over the final two periods of play. RaQuan Jones chipped in six points, six rebounds and three assists.

Next up for Albemarle will be a date with crosstown rival Western Albemarle on December 9th.

*** Special Thanks to Videographer James Timmons ***

Fans can check out Albemarle in the 9th Annual VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic when the Patriots take on Landstown at 4:00 PM on Saturday, January 7, 2017 at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10AM on ESPN Radio 94.1.