Sherando Boys Hold On For 60-55 Win Over Wood

Posted: January 28, 2015
By KEVIN TRUDGEON
The Winchester Star

Sherando’s A.J. Outler scored 12 points in the Warriors’ 60-55 Northwestern District and Conference 21 victory over James Wood on Tuesday night. (Photo by Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star)

Sherando’s Jordan Henry drives to the basket as James Wood’s Branson Ratlief defends during the Warriors’ 60-55 district victory over the Colonels Tuesday night. (Photo by Jeff Taylor/The Winchester Star)
STEPHENS CITY — Sherando’s ball-hawking defense may not have been its usual potent self for much of the second half of Tuesday’s game against James Wood, but it came up big when it needed to.

After watching the visiting Colonels pull even 49-49 on a short jumper from junior Robert Jackson midway through the fourth quarter, a Warrior press that had been quiet for most of the final two quarters suddenly came alive.

A pair of free throws from senior Trey Brisco were followed immediately by back-to-back steals by junior A.J. Outler and Brisco, which led to layups for junior Joey Weaver and Brisco.

The six-point burst gave Sherando (12-3, 4-1 Northwestern District) the breathing room it had been searching for throughout most of the second half and the Warriors held off a determined James Wood for a key 60-55 victory.

“I told the guys not to expect to win by whatever margin we won by the first time, because [James Wood’s] been improving each game and they showed us tonight,” said Sherando coach Garland Williams, whose team won the first meeting 61-39.

“They forced us into some things we didn’t want to do and even though we had the lead, I felt like we sped ourselves up and played like we were behind. But we were able to take advantage of our defense and make some plays there towards the end.”

The two quick steals by Outler (12 points) and Brisco (11 points and four assists) occurred within 10 seconds of each other, and after Colonel freshman Chandler Brooks split a pair of free throws, Brisco picked off a pass and found Outler for a layup to stretch the lead to 57-50 with less than three minutes to play.

It was the kind of scoring outburst that had plagued turnover-prone James Wood (5-10, 0-6) for much of the season, including the first half Tuesday.

After fighting to a 10-10 tie in the first half, the Colonels took the lead on consecutive baskets from senior Tanner Lippold to start the second quarter, only to give it right back to the Warriors.

A strong drive from senior Jordan Henry (game-high 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals) was followed by a Brisco steal and pass up to a wide-open Henry, who stuffed it home for a two-handed dunk.

Brooks, who finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, gave the lead back to James Wood with a coast-to-coast drive, but the Sherando defense took over from there.

A Henry steal and layup was followed by a three-point play from Brisco off another turnover, and Henry then stepped into the passing lane on the ensuing possession and found Brisco for a layup.

By the time senior Kyle Tusing scored off a Henry pass, the Colonels had committed five turnovers in six possessions, with the lone exception being an offensive foul on a charge, and Sherando’s lead had grown to 27-17.

“That’s literally where we are, we have to take better care of the ball,” said James Wood coach Tim Wygant. “It’s very difficult to beat any team if you’re going to turn the ball over 20 times, but it’s really difficult to beat a good team, and Sherando’s a good team.”

The Colonels were on pace for 22 turnovers after committing 11 in the first half and trailing 33-27 heading to the locker room, but did a much better job of taking care of the ball in the second half and were able to keep pace with the Warriors as a result.

After closing the first half on a 9-2 run that included a putback from Jackson (12 points and nine rebounds) and a pair of free throws from senior Branson Ratlief, James Wood opened the third quarter by scoring 12 of the first 18 points, the last of which came on a Brooks steal and layup and a 3-pointer from senior McCall Toler that tied the score at 39-39.

“Coach has been stressing all year to value the basketball, and I think once we started to do that it gave us a chance to be in it tonight,” Jackson said. “We know most teams are going to press us because we’ve had so many turnovers, but we just have to keep working on valuing the basketball and not giving away possessions.”

Sherando closed out the third quarter on a 6-2 run — including layups from Brisco and Outler off steals — to regain the lead heading into the fourth quarter, but James Wood kept within striking distance and eventually tied it up again on Jackson’s jumper.

Needing a win to keep pace with Millbrook in both the district and Conference 21 standings, the Warriors turned to their full-court press defense and were rewarded as Brisco and Outler came up with the crucial steals that proved to be the difference in the end.

“That was big for us, Trey and A.J. came up big,” said Henry, who helped seal the win with a late free throw. “We were trying to slow the game down at the end just to draw out the time, but they were up in our faces and we just needed to make a play. This is a big confidence booster for us.”

With the win Sherando improves to 3-1 in Conference 21 and remains a game back of Millbrook at 4-0, while James Wood falls to 1-3. The team with the best conference record gets the automatic berth to the 4A North Region Tournament and the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament.

Sherando shot 49 percent (23 of 47) from the field and 70 percent (14 of 20) from the line in the contest. James Wood finished 22 of 50 (44 percent) from the field and 9 for 15 (60 percent) from the line, but committed just five turnovers in the second half.

The Colonels are still searching for their first district win of the season, but Wygant liked what he saw from his team Tuesday.

“I think we proved tonight that we are a very good team when we take care of the basketball,” Wygant said. “Our defense picked up, we rebounded the ball well tonight and that’s a direct result of our confidence building in terms of not turning the ball over. If we continue to do that, I believe we’ll peak at the right time and that’s what the goal is.”

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