Wood Boys Rally For Victory Over Sherando, 57-53

Posted: January 21, 2014
By GREG BRILL
Special to The Winchester Star

STEPHENS CITY — Say this about the James Wood boys’ basketball team — they’re a resilient bunch.

Getting eaten up by Sherando twin towers Grant Golden and Jeremiah Curtis off the boards in the first half didn’t get the Colonels down. Nor did facing a 16-point deficit in the final minutes of the third period, a time most road teams would just pack it in and take the loss.

You see, James Wood has made a habit of winning away from its home floor at Shirley Gymnasium this season. Monday night was no different, as the Colonels put together an amazing 27-5 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to rally back for a 57-53 Northwestern District win over the Warriors.

The Colonels (10-5, 3-0 in district) were down 42-26 after Sherando’s Jordan Henry (team-high 13 points) made a tough shot in the lane at the 3:35 mark of the third period. James Wood picked up its play from there, going on an 11-1 run to close the third down six, then blitzed the Warriors (4-8, 2-2) by scoring the first 12 points of the fourth period to move out to a 49-43 lead with 4:06 left.

“The thing is our kids are extremely diligent in terms of sticking to the game plan,” said James Wood coach Tim Wygant, who saw his squad win their third straight, improve to 7-1 on the road, and move into first place all alone in the Northwestern. “It was a little bit off in the first half [the Colonels trailed by nine at the break] but the kids didn’t deviate from what they were supposed to do. They got sharper and more focused, both on the offensive and defensive sides.

“When that happens, they are very good at executing what they are supposed to do. The defensive intensity picked up, we were isolating them to one shot on the defensive side, and when we do that, we knew we had a good chance [to rally back].”

By getting a little more active with their feet and cleaning the glass better (the Colonels were plus-four in rebounding in the second half), James Wood transferred its good work on the defensive end into more execution off the high and low blocks to score the ball over the final 11 minutes.

A 3-pointer from Nick Goode (eight points) got James Wood rolling, then a baseline turnaround by Branson Ratlief was followed by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from senior guard Ryland Williams.

Though they were down 49-43 heading to the fourth, the Colonels could sense they were about to really take control of things.

The play of Williams had a lot to do with the Colonels mounting a quick turnaround.

A second-chance bucket by Ratlief opened the scoring in the fourth, and Cam Butler (12 points) followed that with a turnaround 3 off the right baseline on a possession that saw James Wood get three shots. Williams then got an outlet ahead to Peyton Crickman for a 44-43 lead (the Colonels’ first since 6-5), and Crickman kept the hot hand with a long 3-pointer from the left corner that brought James Wood’s crowd to a frenzy.

A pair of made free throws by Williams at the 4:06 mark sent the lead to six before a free throw by the Warriors finally provided the hosts with a point in the period.

The fourth period belonged to the Colonels, who outscored the Warriors 20-10 over the final eight minutes. Scoreless at the half, Ratlief (seven points before he was lost to fouls in the final minute) scored an and-one with 2:54 left (of an assist from Williams) and a free throw by Butler with 1:34 left made it 53-47 to cap the run that began with James Wood down by 16.

The Warriors, who managed just a combined four points in the second half from Golden and Curtis, never got closer than three after that.

Fresh off a final-second win over Clarke County on Saturday, James Wood found another way to win late by playing sound defense and stunning the Warriors with good teamwork off the offensive end down the stretch.

“We kept our composure when we were down a lot and went on a big run,” said Williams, who led the Colonels with his 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. “... It was everyone getting up the floor, hustling, looking for each other. It was just good team ball.

“It was a big statement game. We always know that we can make a run — any game. And tonight, we showed again that we can. We all played our defensive roles and did what coach told us to do. It all worked out.”

The first half saw the Warriors use their size well (20-10 rebounding advantage), with Golden scoring six of his eight points and Curtis seven of his nine.

Sherando also hit from deep four times and got points from six players to lead 32-23 at the break. Sherando would end up getting a combined 27 rebounds from Curtis (he had 14) and Golden, but the Warriors got away from what worked and were left with yet another close defeat.

Sherando only had 10 assists on 20 baskets, and only forced three second-half turnovers.

“We got away from getting it inside [in the second half],” Sherando coach Garland Williams said. “In the fourth quarter, I think our bigs got frustrated dealing with maybe not getting the touches they feel they should have had. It was a very frustrating quarter there.

“We’ve got to do a better job of decision making and we’ve got to work the basketball. It’s a very disappointing loss, but you’ve got to credit James Wood too. They kept chipping at it and clawing at it. Once they got the lead, they did a very good job of securing the basketball.”

The Warriors also got 11 points from Isaiah Williams.