Sherando boys win unusual opener with James Wood

STEPHENS CITY — After not having fans in the stands last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, Sherando senior guard Cody Crittenden couldn’t have been happier to see the Warriors’ gym packed for Tuesday night’s season opener with James Wood.

“It felt awesome,” said Crittenden, one of five boys who took part in the Senior Night ceremonies between games. “Just to come out with the crowd roaring and the Loud Crowd ... it gave me chills.”

The rest of the night took some unexpected turns, but the positives were that the Warriors were able to finish the game and give their fans something to cheer about when the final buzzer sounded.

Sherando lost its early momentum after a fire alarm went off with 29 seconds left in the first quarter, forcing the building to be evacuated and creating a 50-minute game hiatus. But after giving up not only a seven-point first quarter lead but also a seven-point fourth quarter lead, the Warriors emerged with a gritty 47-43 win in a game that also served as the Class 4 Northwestern District opener for both teams.

“All in all the guys did a pretty decent job of responding to some pressure situations,” Sherando coach Garland Williams said. “Wood did a nice job coming back, did a really good job with their pick and roll, and they made some big shots.

“We’re going to have to work on defending the pick and roll, but late in the game we did do a little better with it. And when we secured the ball, we were able to run the offensive sets we like to and got some high-percentage shots.”

The Colonels took a 40-39 lead with 3:07 left on 3-pointer by Benjamin Tollok, one of six 3-pointers for James Wood on Tuesday. But the Colonels went scoreless in missing their next six shots. Senior guard Cole Stowers (game-high 18 points) hit the last of his three 3-pointers with 2.4 seconds left to end the drought and cut Sherando’s lead to 45-43.

But then Zach Symons (nine points) came up clutch again to secure the win for Sherando. Symons knocked down both free throws in a one-and-one situation with nine seconds left to make it 45-40, then did it again with 1.2 seconds remaining to make it a four-point game and essentially impossible for James Wood to tie the score.

“I was very confident I could hit the shots,” said Symons, who made 15 of his 17 free throw attempts in Sherando’s 10-game spring season.

Sherando hit its last six free throws of the fourth quarter. Two by Crittenden (team-high 11 points) gave the Warriors the lead for good at 41-40 with 2:43 left.

The Warriors probably hoped the game wasn’t going to come down to the final seconds after jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter, but then the fire alarm sounded and the fire department arrived. Sherando coordinator of student activities Jason Barbe said it wasn’t clear what caused the fire alarm to go off.

After about two-thirds of the original crowd returned inside the building from the cold, the Warriors watched James Wood heat up. The Colonels outscored Sherando 18-7 to start the second quarter, though Sherando did score the last four points of the half to knot the game at 22 at the break. Stowers and junior point guard Noah Borromeo (16 points) each scored eight points in the first half for the Colonels.

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing [with the fire alarm],” Crittenden said. “We came back out and were a little cold.”

James Wood coach Tim Wygant thinks his team, which is short on varsity experience, had a little trouble getting accustomed to playing in a front of a full crowd at the beginning. In making 6 of 11 shots and outrebounding Sherando 8-5 in the second quarter, the Colonels certainly looked more comfortable once they came back in.

“If you take away the first seven minutes, we ultimately outscored them,” Wygant said. “But you’ve got to play 32 minutes. They’ll learn. They’re a young group. It’s going to come.”

Two straight 3-pointers by Stowers gave the Colonels a 30-24 lead with 4:56 left in the third quarter. At that point, Symons (6:10 mark of the third quarter) and Sherando point guard Amari Williams (5:50) were in the process of sitting out the rest of the quarter with three fouls.

Sherando didn’t let the absence of a couple of key players derail it, though, as Crittendon scored seven points in a 15-2 run that gave the Warriors a 39-32 lead with 5:10 left in the fourth quarter.

“We fought,” Crittenden said.

James Wood battled back with an 8-0 run that ended with Tollak’s 3-pointer, but the Warriors made the plays they needed to down the stretch. With 1:38 left, 6-foot-5 Lazore Adingono (10 points) put back his own miss to push the lead to 43-40.

The Colonels had their chances to score after that, but a potential tying 3-pointer was well off the mark, and they missed a couple of close-range shots.

“Our inexperience might have reared its head a little bit when we actually got in the paint,” Wygant said. “I think we missed a good 15, 18 shots within three feet of the basket, and that doesn’t typically happen.

“But in terms of fighting and battling tonight, I think our kids showed a lot of resilience.”

Both teams want to be better going forward. At least in Sherando’s case, it can go forward with a win.

“As a total team, I feel like we have way more potential and we can play way better,” Symons said. “But for the first game, I can’t argue with getting the win at all.”

Sherando hosts Warren County on Monday in its next game. James Wood hosts Woodgrove on Monday.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1