By Jim McConnell
Sports Editor

On paper, Friday’s Powhatan-Western Albemarle boys basketball game appeared to be a classic mismatch.

The visiting Warriors came to town with 10 victories and a 3-1 Jefferson District mark, which included a nine-point win over the same Charlottesville squad that had pummeled Powhatan on Tuesday.

The Indians, who have a roster full of inexperienced players learning on the fly, had lost their first four district games as part of a 3-9 overall record.

But after Western Albemarle raced out to a 7-0 lead, something interesting happened: Powhatan’s players hit a couple shots, gained confidence and started to believe they could stand toe-to-toe with the bigger, deeper Warriors.

By the time Tyler Allen finished the second of his back-to-back layups to bring the Indians within 28-25 with 4:16 left in the first half, Western Albemarle coach Darren Maynard had seen enough.

“You’re being outhustled by an inferior team!” a furious Maynard barked at his players in the Warriors’ timeout huddle.

Even after the visitors picked up their energy and intensity, Powhatan refused to buckle.

Trailing by 15 points with just 3:37 left in the game, the Indians closed within 59-53 on Trevon Taylor’s 3-pointer.

Western Albemarle made sure the home team didn’t get its storybook ending by hitting four free throws to close out a 63-53 victory, but Powhatan’s young squad made a statement with its spirited, determined effort.

“We definitely got outhustled,” Maynard said. “I give Powhatan a lot of credit. They played very hard and very well.”

None of the Indians were better than Joey Balcom. The scrappy freshman point guard led Powhatan with 14 points and showed the toughness of a veteran by repeatedly penetrating the paint and scoring over the Warriors’ tall front line.

“I don’t think they thought we’d come out as strong as we did,” Balcom said. “Confidence is everything. No matter who you’re playing, if you believe you can compete, you can play well.”

“We’re O-fer in the district, so everybody looks at us as little guys, but we have a lot of fight in this team,” added Allen, who returned after missing a couple games with a concussion and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Chris Deleon added nine points before fouling out and Taylor stepped up when the Indians were struggling to score, tallying all seven of his points in the final 2:48.

“We tell the kids they have to earn the other team’s respect by playing hard,” Powhatan coach Steve Washburn said. “We can’t afford to take a night off because we don’t have any margin for error. We have to be perfect.

“Sometimes that’s hard to get out of them on a night-to-night basis when the wins aren’t coming.”

Chase Stokes scored a game-high 16 points and led Western Albemarle players in double figures. Ben Turner and Parker Morris added 12 apiece and Brett Engle chipped in 10 as the Warriors repeatedly answered Powhatan’s second-half challenges.

The Indians got within a point on Balcom’s three-point play early in the third quarter and trailed by two after Ben Gerow swished a 3-pointer later in the period.

Engle hit two free throws on the other end, sparking the Warriors on a 17-4 run that prompted Washburn to call timeout with Powhatan trailing 58-43 and only 3:38 left in the game.

“We finally matched their energy in the second half,” said Maynard, who acknowledged his players may have taken the Indians too lightly. “We still did some dumb things, but at least we got our effort up where theirs was.”

Powhatan answered Western Albemarle’s run with one of its own. Drew Ratliff started it with a 3-pointer and Taylor ripped off seven quick points in a 10-1 surge that brought the Indians back within six at 59-53.

But the fundamentally sound Warriors hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch and Powhatan didn’t score again.

“I like the way this team is coming together,” Washburn said. “Every day they come to practice and want to get better. They work hard and we can see progress being made.

“Now it’s about consistency, building on this performance and continuing to improve.”

The Indians play their final home game of the 2011-12 regular season Friday against Louisa before closing with road trips to Charlottesville, Midlothian, Fluvanna and Western Albemarle.