WINCHESTER — Ahead of the snow, sleet and freezing rain that was expected to hit Frederick County on Tuesday morning, James Wood High School’s boys’ basketball players made sure Chris Higgs got a preview of the wet conditions to come on Monday night.
The Colonels’ new head coach was ambushed with water in the Colonels’ locker room as a way of congratulating him on his first win following Monday’s season opener against Clarke County.
After a slow start in which James Wood trailed after the first quarter, the Colonels picked up steam and finished with a 64-49 victory. James Wood took the lead for good 19 seconds into the second quarter and led by double digits for the last nine minutes and 38 seconds of the game. The Colonels led by as many as 18 points.
“All very cold,” said Higgs of the water dousing he took after the game. “I’m soaked. I didn’t bring a change of clothes. So it will be a long, cold ride home.”
Higgs — James Wood’s head JV coach last year — likely made that trip with a smile on his face, though. Higgs has also coached James Wood’s current players in travel basketball.
“They were happy to celebrate their first win this year, so we’ll take [the water],” said Higgs of his players. “[This win] is definitely about those 12 guys in that locker room, that played and wear the uniform. I’m just excited to be the coach for those guys.
“I’m really excited to see them continue to grow and love each other. And that’s what we really focus on as a team. They’re phenomenal, and they’ve really grown a lot.”
Senior guard Brodie Sirbaugh — last year’s team leader in scoring (10.7 points per game) and steals (2.3) — led four Colonels in double figures with 16 points, and he had three steals in the fourth quarter. Clarke County — which played without its top returning scorer in Isaac Nei (10.2 ppg) due to injury — was led by Chris Reid with 20 points, six rebounds and two steals.
In beating Clarke County to open the season, James Wood has already taken a significant step forward. The Colonels were 1-3 against the Eagles the previous two seasons, including a 64-57 defeat at Shirley Gymnasium in last year’s season opener for both teams.
Last year’s opener was tied with 4:15 remaining, and Monday’s game started off tight. The Eagles led 15-14 after one quarter.
Higgs noted that both of James Wood’s scrimmages were on the road. Higgs said the nerves that come with playing in front of the home fans and James Wood doing things it’s worked on in practice but hadn’t used in games until Monday might have contributed to an unsteady start.
James Wood had a quick burst to start the second quarter on a basket by Sirbaugh and a 3-pointer from Aidric Yurish to take a 19-15 lead within the first minute. But then the Colonels experienced what could have been a damaging blow when Sirbaugh was whistled for his third foul with 6:33 left in the second quarter and sent to the bench.
Sirbaugh wouldn’t see the floor for the rest of the half, but when the teams went to the locker room James Wood had expanded its lead to six points (27-21).
The Colonels’ defense and eventual increased aggressiveness on offense made it happen.
The Eagles scored only six points on 1-of-9 field goal shooting and 4-of-5 free throw shooting in the second quarter. Reid made three of those free throws while being fouled on a 3-pointer with 1:39 left, the Eagles’ only points in the last 5:13 of the half.
And after making only 6 of 24 field goal attempts and 1 of 10 3-pointers in the first 12 minutes and 44 seconds — the Colonels were held scoreless for more than three minutes after Sirbaugh left the game — James Wood attacked the basket and made all four of its field goal attempts in the last 3:16.
Up 19-18, Mike Bell (11 points, six rebounds, three steals) stole the ball and fed Ashby Copenhaver (12 points) for a basket. Bell posted up in the right block and scored to make it 21-18, Copenhaver scored to make it 25-21, and Barrett (14 points, seven rebounds) caught a pass over the top of the defense into the paint from Yurish to make it 27-21 with 55 seconds left in the first half.
“I told the guys we want to focus on EPAs — early pitch aheads — so that we can push the pace a little bit,” Higgs said. “We don’t have to shoot early. I just want to push the pace and set up the offense. We were able to do that and get some easier shots.
“And it really starts on the defensive end. We’ve got to be able to box out and rebound. We do those things, and we can play our style of game on offense.”
Clarke County only made 16 of 52 field goal attempts, including 6 of 29 from 3-point range, and committed 22 turnovers.
James Wood took control in the third quarter. With the score 38-33 with 2:11 left in the period following a 3-pointer by Reid, the Colonels went on a 12-1 run for a 50-34 lead with 7:09 remaining in the game.
That stretch featured Xander Manzo scoring on a layup following a Yurish steal and Sirbaugh with a pretty reverse layup off the right side of the glass after driving through the lane.
“We were getting the ball out pretty fast and getting it up the court,” Barrett said. “Playing at our pace and not their pace, I think that really helped out.”
Sirbaugh said Higgs set the team up for success in the locker room at halftime.
“He told us where we could take advantage of them defensively and offensively,” Sirbaugh said. “We came out and executed.”
The Colonels wouldn’t let Clarke County get closer than 11 points from there, and James Wood finished with a flourish. With 1:41 left, Sirbaugh dribbled toward the basket before unleashing a high pass to the right of the basket, which Bell caught and slammed through the net to fire up the crowd and make it 64-46.
“We’ve been talking about [doing] that since eighth grade, me throwing him lobs when we’re seniors on varsity,” Sirbaugh said. “It’s nice to see it coming true. This is only the start.”
Though the Eagles struggled with their shooting, Clarke County coach Kent Auslander felt his team’s defense was its biggest issue Monday. The Eagles forced 18 turnovers, but James Wood made 26 of 54 field goal attempts, including 20 of its last 30.
“I thought the first half, we guarded really well in the half court,” Auslander said. “We kept the ball in front. We communicated switches. We didn’t give up any easy post touches. Most of their scoring was transition and offensive rebounds in the first half.
“Second half, that stuff just kind of all went away. We didn’t guard the ball very well. We just kind of let them get easy baskets in the post without much resistance, and then offensive rebounds again. We have to do a better job of converting off turnovers, and we have to do a better job of sprinting back when we turn it over ourselves. If we can get carryover from what the first half looked like, there were some positives there.”
The Eagles don’t play again until Dec. 9 at Catoctin (Maryland). Auslander said Nei has a chance to return for that game, and he’ll help the Eagles on both ends of the floor. Clarke County no longer has three of its top four scorers from last year following the graduations of Tanner Sipe and Lincoln Booker, and Colton Johnson moving out of state.
In addition to Reid, Maddox Roberts (11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) also scored in double figures for the Eagles on Monday. Nick Kerr-Hobert had eight points and two steals and Drae Ellis scored eight points.
The Colonels are next in action on Friday at Fauquier. James Wood is looking forward to that game and every other with Higgs guiding them.
“The energy is way higher [this year with Higgs],” said Sirbaugh, who is playing for his third head coach in his three-year varsity career at James Wood. “He understands us in a way other coaches haven’t, I’d say. He’s there for us.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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