Pioneers roll over Colonels 80-65

Millbrook defense shuts down Wood
January 14, 2012
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- With about four minutes to go in the third quarter, Millbrook junior guard Rze Culbreath leapt into a passing lane and tapped the ball forward into the frontcourt.

Culbreath, making a beeline toward the Millbrook bench, was unable to keep the ball in bounds before crashing into his teammates. But he did walk away with a hard slap on the rear end from Pioneers coach Scott Mankins before he walked back onto the court.

Defensive intensity was one of just many things Mankins could savor Friday night.

After giving up an opening 3-pointer, the Pioneers launched a 17-0 run and then kept James Wood at bay for the duration of Millbrook's 80-65 Northwestern District win Friday night at Shirley Gymnasium.

Millbrook (8-4, 1-2 Northwestern) - which had given up at least 80 points in each game of a three-game losing streak - held a Colonels' team averaging 80 points game to 31.7 percent shooting overall and 15.5 (7 of 45) from 3-point range. Millbrook was also intelligent and unselfish on offense, earning assists on 25 of their 31 field goals in a night in which they shot 58 percent from the field. Culbreath led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, assists and steals.

Mankins didn't think Millbrook did well with "the little things," after the last of those three losses, an 80-78 loss to Sherando Tuesday, but the Pioneers executed with energy Friday.

"The film sessions were probably a little more intense than the practices," said Mankins of the two days in between games. "It's a smart group of kids, it's a good group of kids, and we just have to get refocused.

"We played hard [in those losses]. We played some good opponents. But we had to get some purpose back."

Neither team could get going through the first half of the first quarter, but Colonels coach Al Smith didn't think his team was as active as the Pioneers, and it wasn't long before they paid a price.

After Donté Harris (12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) fired a pass off the backboard from beyond the arc on the left side of the floor so an open Boomer Kaczmarzewski (12 points) could lay it on the right to make it 4-3 with 4:03 left in the first quarter, the Pioneers were off to the races.

A little more than two minutes later, the Pioneers were up 17-3, and they led 21-7 after the first quarter and 44-23 at the half.

Millbrook's trapping zone defense produced numerous layups off steals, and the Pioneers - who only attempted eight 3-pointers - were frequently able to break James Wood's traps and move the ball well for close-range shots.

On the flip side, the Pioneers rarely allowed a James Wood (6-8, 0-2) team that likes to shoot the 3 no matter what comfortable looks at the basket.

"Against Sherando, we didn't contest shots, but in this game we did," Culbreath said. "We worked hard on that in practice."

"Our feet were slow," said Smith, who added his team's press might have been too conservative at the outset. "Millbrook was playing a lot quicker than we did in the first half, and I think they played a little harder than we did tonight, and it showed."

The Colonels played with more energy in the third quarter, forcing turnovers on defense and taking the ball to the basket more on offense, and a 17-5 run helped cut their deficit to 61-48 with 13 seconds left in the third. But James Wood ran out of steam and did not score again until there was 5:12 left in the fourth.

Smith wasn't disheartened by the defeat, but the Pioneers definitely feel better themselves after the victory.

"The losses didn't affect us really," Kaczmarzewski said. "We kept our head on our shoulders and kept working hard, and it ended up right the way we wanted it."

Cody Taylor led Millbrook with 11 rebounds.

Michael Carter led James Wood with 15 points and four steals. Chad Potter had 11 points and three steals, and Ryland Williams had 10 points.

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