Handley Boys Turn Away James Wood In Final Quarter

Posted: February 6, 2016
By ROBERT STOCKS
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — When James Wood overcame a 10-point deficit to take a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Handley’s players might have had flashbacks to perhaps their most disappointing loss of the season in the first meeting with the Colonels.

But Handley sophomore Gus Wise made sure history didn’t repeat this time.

Wise scored eight of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter to help the Judges notch their fifth straight victory with a 49-43 Northwestern District boys’ basketball win over the Colonels at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium on Friday night.

Handley (12-7, 5-2 district) blew a 21-point lead in a 53-52 Conference 21A loss to James Wood (11-8, 2-5) back on Jan. 15, but the Judges showed poise during the final eight minutes to make sure they didn’t let another lead slip away against their rival in Friday’s non-conference matchup.

“We stayed positive and we made sure what we did in the first game didn’t happen again,” said Wise, who came up with key plays on both ends of the court in the closing minutes. “We just stayed confident and stayed positive.”

James Wood sophomore Chandler Brooks carried the Colonels in the second half, scoring 12 of his team-high 17 points.

Brooks grabbed a defensive rebound and finished a three-point play at the other end to tie it 43-43 with 2:36 left.

Handley sophomore Kobe Tigney’s putback of his own miss gave the Judges a 45-43 advantage with 2:05 to go.

On James Wood’s next possession, senior Andrew Hinebaugh missed a layup and the Colonels turned the ball over with 1:20 left.

Brooks came up with another steal but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 chance with 1:00 left. Colonels senior Robert Jackson grabbed the offensive board but Wise blocked the putback attempt.

Handley freshman Kevin Curry corralled the loose ball and was sent to the line where he hit the front end of a 1-and-1 chance to put the Judges ahead 46-43.

From there, James Wood junior Aidan Houser missed a three and the Judges sealed the victory at the free throw line.

Wise knocked down a pair of free throws with 14.8 seconds left, and then Michael Brown hit the second of two foul shots for the final margin. Handley went 5 for 8 from the free-throw line during the fourth quarter.

During the team’s five-game win streak, Handley coach Jason Toton said his team has taken leads and then needed to battle back so he’s encouraged.

“The ball’s just been going on our side the last couple games and we’ve been making free throws and making clutch shots when we need them,” Toton said. “Hopefully we continue to keep doing that.

“Every game it can be somebody else. Last game [against Woodgrove] it was Keevon [Martin] that hit two threes in the fourth quarter when we needed them and tonight it was Gus. We came up with some key rebounds, and I think everybody that got into the game did a good job of contributing in every way.”

Handley led from the end of the first quarter until Brooks hit the second of two free throws to put the Colonels ahead 37-36 with 6:51 left to play.

But James Wood’s lead lasted only a minute.

Wise knocked down his second 3-pointer to put Handley back on top by two. His third three of the contest pushed the Judges’ lead to 43-37 with 4:20 left.

The Colonels battled back to tie it with Brooks’ three-point play, but James Wood never led the rest of the way.

James Wood struggled to get shots to fall in the final period, going just 2 of 8 from the field.

“We missed a couple shots toward the end that we normally do make and Handley made the free throws down the stretch,” said James Wood coach Tim Wygant. “We showed a lot of character in fighting back but it proves against a team as athletically talented and basketball-talented as Handley — you can’t have an off quarter. If you have an off quarter you’re in trouble. Our shots just didn’t go in in the end.”

The Colonels went more than 6:30 without a field goal to end the first half. The Judges went through a 4:54 scoring drought from the field, but Wise went 4 for 4 from the free throw line to help Handley take a 29-19 advantage at the half.

James Wood shot just 1 for 8 from the field and turned the ball over five times in the second quarter.

“Their defensive pressure kind of got to us,” said Brooks, who had a solid all-around game with six rebounds, five steals and four assists. “We didn’t get the shots that we’d like to have.

“It’s hard to bounce back once you’re off [shooting]. It’s hard to get back on but their defensive pressure — you’ve got to give credit to [Handley], it was pretty good.”

The Judges, who start four sophomores in their starting five, have limited opponents to 43 points or less three times during their five-game winning streak.

Earlier in the season when opposing teams would make runs or take the lead, Toton said his team might not have responded in a positive way, so he’s excited about the way his young team is playing with the conference tournament starting next Saturday.

“The nice sign is we’ve had those leads before and we’ve lost them and we’ve lost the games,” Toton said. “But in the last four or five games, we’ve lost those leads but we’ve bounced back, dealt with adversity and came back and got the wins. It’s a good sign in the sense that hopefully we’re growing up and maturing and when we put ourselves in those situations we can overcome it.”

Tigney and Brown added 13 apiece to give Handley three players in double figures.

James Wood’s Noah Sullivan scored eight points. Jackson added five points and a team-high seven rebounds, and Hinebaugh finished with seven points and five boards for the Colonels.

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