Boy's Basketball vs. Handley

February 7, 2012

By GREG BRILL

Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- The Handley boys' basketball team has plenty of players ready to pop up long jumpers if the opportunity presents itself.

But as far as Judges coach Tommy Dixon is concerned, the main objective is to get the ball down on the blocks to senior Derek Dowrey and sophomore Cameron Jackson and let the duo go to work making high-percentage shots.

Handley made just three 3-point baskets on Monday night against James Wood and had spurts where it wasted possessions (20 turnovers). But when the ball found the hands of Dowrey and Jackson in close, the Judges flourished.

Jackson came off the bench to make 13 field goals and score a team-high 26 points - to go with a game-high 11 rebounds - and Dowrey (six rebounds) scored all seven of his points in the first half as Handley clinched the Northwestern District regular-season title with a 91-81 win in Maddex-Omps Gymnasium on senior night.

Since the Judges (15-4, 6-2 district) swept their two games with Sherando (10-10, 6-2), they are declared the Northwestern champs on the tie-breaker.

"It's something these guys have worked for all year long and I'm quite sure they're very proud of it," Dixon said. "It wasn't easy. James Wood knocked down shots and they capitalized on a lot of our mistakes. They did a good job tonight."

Handley will have a week off and next play Feb. 14 against Thursday's play-in winner between Skyline and James Wood (9-12, 1-7). The entire district tournament will be played at Sherando High School.

Senior guard Chad Potter scored a career-high 27 points, including 15 in the second half, to keep the Colonels close. But a plus-16 rebounding advantage for the Judges proved to be too much for James Wood to overcome.

"Handley got too many rebounds and too many second-chance [points] opportunities down there," James Wood coach Al Smith said. "And they were able to convert those. I thought that was the difference."

Jackson (13 of 20 from the field) was the biggest thorn in the side of the Colonels, scoring 18 of his total Monday in the second half. He also had 21 points in the first game against James Wood.

"Cameron is a work in progress," Dixon said. "He listens and he does what you ask him to do.

"At halftime, we told everybody one of our points of emphasis at the beginning of the game was to simply get the ball inside. I think Derek did a good job early and Cameron did a very good job late."

Though not as many points were scored as when the teams played the first time (a 102-83 Handley win on Jan. 26), the pace still provided plenty of activity.

James Wood still scored plenty from long range (11 made 3-pointers) and attacked the basket often.

The thing is, Handley spent much of the night finding shooters close to the basket for easy scores. The Judges had assists on 25 of 35 made baskets.

The Judges used an 11-2 run bridging the first and second quarters to take the lead for good, but the Colonels were always within striking distance.

Handley senior guard Robbie Lawler (17 points, game-high eight assists) spent much of the early stages of the game finding teammates for layups.

In the second period, the Judges made eight of their first nine shots and took a 38-32 lead on a 3-pointer by Jake Rudolph (10 points, four assists) with 2:35 left.

A layup by Kyle Murph (all eight of his points came in the first half) sent the lead to eight, but James Wood closed the half on a good run.

Ryland Williams (15 points) made a 3-pointer and scored off a drive, and a layup by Potter off a turnover possession with a second left cut Handley's lead to 44-39 at the half.

The Colonels kept hanging around, many times answering a Handley score with one of their own.

Deep in the third period, James Wood was down only 56-53 after Potter knocked down a baseline jumper with 2:05 left.

"Several times, we had very bad shot selections," Dixon said. "There were several times where we had [James Wood] holding an eight- or nine-point lead and we'd jack one up.

"Tonight, I felt like we should have [continued] to get the ball down inside, and Cameron and Derek proved that when we did that, we were a whole lot better off."

Over the final 1:45 of the third period, the Judges finally were able to gain some room.

Darion Robinson (15 points, seven rebounds) made two free throws, and Jackson worked inside for a stick-back. Then, after Michael Carter (13 points) scored for James Wood, Dexter Sloane took in a steal for two points and Jackson scored off a reverse with six seconds left, giving Handley a 64-55 lead heading to the fourth.

James Wood tried to rally, making four 3-pointers in the fourth and scoring 26 points. But Handley scored 27, Jackson added eight points to his total, and the lead never got below seven.

Bench scoring was crucial for the Judges, who got 55 points from their reserves, which included Jackson, Robinson, and Rudolph in double-figures.

The Colonels are hoping to repeat last season's post-season success. James Wood won the play-in over Skyline, upset top-seed Millbrook, and lost a close game to Sherando in the district final, after going 0-8 during the regular season.

"It's going to be a tough game [Thursday, with Skyline], but these guys really have some motivation to get to the semifinals and play [Handley] again," Smith said. "But Skyline is first, and they're tough enough as it is."