RICHMOND — Monacan boys basketball coach R.J. Spelsberg knows his team's defensive strategy is a bit unconventional in today's game.
Spelsberg's squad operates primarily out of a 2-3 zone, which is a dying breed in the hoops world outside of Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange.
However, Louisa discovered just how confounding a good 2-3 zone can be during Friday's Region 4B semifinal matchup with the Chiefs, mustering just 35 points through the first three quarters of action.
By the time the Lions' shots began to fall in the final period, it was too little too late, as Monacan went on to earn a 68-60 victory.
The win not only advanced the Chiefs (20-4) to Monday’s 7 p.m. region title game at Courtland, but it punched their ticket to the state tournament for the fourth time in the past five years.
Courtland (24-2) defeated Huguenot (18-6) 86-78 in the evening's other semifinal.
"Our staple here at Monacan is our 2-3 zone," Spelsberg said. "It's unconventional and not many high school teams are willing to play it, but we've been successful at executing it over the years."
Louisa (18-6) struggled to put the ball in the basket from the get-go, as the Chiefs' long-armed trio of 6-foot-8 Cliff Robinson, 6-6 Jamais Werts and 6-4 Sam Wittenbraker afforded them very little room to operate.
Senior guards Jarett Hunter and Xavien Hunter, who were both instrumental in the Lions' run to the Class 4 state championship game a season ago, were both held in check through the first three frames. Jarett Hunter scored eight points during that span, while Xavien Hunter only mustered five.
"We wanted to stop the two of them," Spelsberg said of the Hunters. "We were focused on them, and we figured even if they beat our guards at the top of the zone, they'd have to hit pull-up jumpers over our bigger guys inside. I thought that strategy worked out pretty well."
In just his third game back since suffering a broken right collarbone in December that required surgery, Wittenbraker did more than just help anchor Monacan's defense. He scored seven points in the opening stanza to help the Chiefs jump out to an 11-6 lead, connecting on a 3-pointer from the right corner that brought Monacan's packed gymnasium to its feet.
Wittenbraker went on to finish the contest with a team-high 16 points, as well as eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Wittenbraker brushed off his big night in the scoring column in favor of the latter two categories though.
"Scoring's never much been my role," Wittenbraker said. "It's always been rebounding and defense. I spend a lot of time in the weight room, so I know I have an advantage in the strength category over most kids. I use that to make an impact."
Jaxon Callaham came off the bench to knock down back-to-back 3's in the second quarter, extending the Chiefs' advantage to 20-8 with 4:43 to go before intermission. He was fouled on his next attempt and sank 2 of 3 free throws, and then Wittenbraker followed that with another 3 from the right corner to give Monacan a 32-23 edge at the break.
Louisa didn’t pack it in though. Buoyed by a pair of baskets in the paint from Isaac Haywood and a jumper from Jarett Hunter, the Lions opened the third period on a 6-0 run, pulling within 32-29 at the 6:02 mark of the frame.
However, Callaham scored eight points during an ensuing 11-2 stretch by the Chiefs, giving them their biggest advantage of the game up to that point, 43-31, with less than two minutes to play in the stanza.
"I always look to get the ball to my teammates first and foremost," said Callaham, who ended the night with 15 points. "I was able to hit some shots tonight, and they returned the favor by looking for me."
Jarett and Xavien Hunter both came alive in the fourth quarter for Louisa, with Jarett tallying 13 of his game-high 21 points and Xavien netting 12 of his 17 during that time. But they couldn’t get the Lions closer than five points at any time down the stretch, thanks in large part to the Chiefs' Walker Posey registering all 14 of his points in the stanza.
“[Monacan’s] zone really gave us some trouble in the first half,” Xavien Hunter said. “We tried to shoot over it, but they have so many guys with long arms that it was tough to get good looks. We adjusted as the game went on, but they just matched us whenever we made a run.”
Louisa head coach Robert Shelton expressed pride in his team for what it’s been able to accomplish over the past two seasons, particularly as it related to the Hunters and Haywood, who all started for the Lions last year as well.
“These guys put in the work to help get Louisa basketball back on the map,” Shelton said. “They left their mark on our program and our school, and I’ll always be grateful to them for that.”
Louisa 6 17 12 25 — 60
Monacan 11 21 13 23 — 68
Louisa (18-6): Jarett Hunter 21, Jaquan Jones 4, Xavien Hunter 17, Isaac Haywood 8, Nathaniel Feagans 3, Price Straley 0, Terry Neely 0, Mahlik Munnerlyn 7. Totals: 21 10-13 60.
Monacan (20-4): Jaxon Callaham 15, Cliff Robinson 11, Sam Wittenbraker 16, Diel Lacks 6, Walker Posey 14, Isaiah Harris 0, Jamais Werts 6. Totals: 24 15-22 68.
3-pointers: Louisa 8 (X. Hunter 4, J. Hunter, Jones, Feagans, Munnerlyn). Monacan 5 (Wittenbraker 2, Callaham 2, Posey).
