Posted: December 18, 2012
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI

WINCHESTER — If Nick Foura and the rest of the James Wood boys’ basketball team can get into another groove like they did Monday night, Atlee might want to start getting nervous.

James Wood hit 20 of 56 3-pointers to defeat Woodgrove 96-70 Monday night to complete the season sweep of their series.

Led by Threea — er, Foura, who scored 18 of his 23 points on six 3-point baskets, including three in a key one-minute stretch early in the second half — the Colonels tied the second most made 3-pointers in a game in state history, according to the Virginia High School League. Atlee also hit 20 in February of 2006 against Dinwiddie, the same month they hit a state-record 25 against Maggie Walker.

For Smith, what made 20 particularly impressive was that the Colonels (4-2), who had eight people make at least one three, had seemingly lost their way.

After knocking down 6 of 12 3-pointers in the first quarter that saw them take a 28-16 lead at the end of it, their execution level slipped in hitting just 3 of their next 15, helping Woodgrove (0-7) claw all the way back to within 43-41 of James Wood 40 seconds into the second half.

“We just changed our alignment,” Smith said. “What we were doing was typical of what we do, whether it’s man or zone. But our guys, even though we like to play fast, when we play against a zone we need to be a little more patient, and they weren’t patient.

“We were making cuts in the zone and banging into our cutters, because we weren’t patient enough to let the zone go ahead and shift first.” But once the adjustment was made, it couldn’t have been much more glorious. Sixteen seconds after Ryland Williams (19 points, four 3-pointers, five steals) — who was saddled with three fouls in the first half — checked in, he zipped a pass into Michael Carter (10 points, two 3’s) a couple feet inside of the paint, and Carter then kicked the ball out to an open Foura on the right wing.

Foura buried that three with 6:17 left to make it 46-41, hit another from the right wing at the 6:09 mark to make it 49-43, and then Carter found Foura again in the right corner with 5:43 left, where he calmly buried another 3-pointer.

Woodgrove followed that make with a timeout, but the Wolverines would never climb within nine again.

“I love it,” said Williams when asked about Foura’s hot stretch. “I love seeing him shoot.

“When he hits a few in a row, that just gets the whole team hyped and the whole crowd hyped.”

Foura said his confidence wasn’t too high early in the second half — he had just five of James Wood’s 43 points at halftime — but once he gets going, he can’t stop.

“When I had those three, I just kept on firing, and they kept on going in for me,” said Foura, who would add nine more points and two more 3-pointers over the course of the game.

James Wood also did well in the second half to get points inside and at the line by driving and feeding the ball inside.

Though James Wood’s defensive play can often be overshadowed by its up-tempo offense, the Colonels’ adjustments on that end helped pave the way for the win as well.

Woodgrove hit 17 of 21 free throws in scoring 37 first-half points, but the Colonels cut those attempts allowed in half over the final 24 minutes.

“There was too much reaching in,” Smith said. “[After that] we were just keeping our hands off them and playing fundamental, sound defense, just staying in your stance. Instead of reaching in and trying to grab the ball, we just said to hold your hands straight up and let them throw the ball where they throw it, and see if you can get it.”

Overall, James Wood held Woodgrove to 36-percent shooting and forced 26 turnovers.

Also for James Wood, Peyton Crickman had 14 points and two three-pointers and Cam Butler had 13 points and three baskets from beyond the arc.

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