Rogers returns, gets victory over James Wood

By Michael L. Misfeldt
Special to The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER — Whoever said you can never go home again was not talking about Martinsburg (W.Va.) boys’ basketball coach Dave Rogers.

The former R.E. Aylor Middle School and James Wood High school coach led his team to a 81-59 non-district win over James Wood on Wednesday night.

“This is a great city and a great school,” said Rogers, who was hired at Aylor in 1973 to coach ninth graders before coming to Wood to coach sophomores and eventually winding up in Martinsburg.

“I started here, and my assistant coach Bruce Fowler was the head coach here for five years before he came over to us two years ago. So, we have a lot of good friends and a lot of good people in this area.”

On the court, the Colonels (5-9) got off to a slow start, and things began to go from bad to worse.

The Bulldogs closed out the first quarter on a 15-4 run to take a 23-9 lead. Wood shot just 36 percent from the field in the period.

“Some of that is shot selection,” Colonels coach Al Smith said. “Some of that is the fact that Martinsburg was up in our face and our guys have to learn to react to that better then they did.” The Bulldogs (8-2) continued their hot shooting into the second quarter, making 50 percent of their shots from the field and scoring 24 points in the period to take a 47-28 lead.

“We are finally getting some energy,” Rogers said. “We had not been playing well, so the last game against Handley we changed point guards and now we are finally back to Martinsburg basketball. We are back to running, pressing the ball and playing at an up-tempo when we can and getting easy baskets.”

The second half started a little better for the Colonels, who were able to move the ball better. But Martinsburg’s hot shooting continued, and the Bulldogs rang up another 26 points in the third to go up by 31.

“We came out flat in the first half,” said Wood senior Trae Tinsman, who had a game-high 27 points and seven rebounds. “The second half we came out trying to get back in the game, but it was too late. They are a great team, and we just have to come out ready to play against Sherando on Friday.”

The Colonels amped up the pressure in the fourth quarter by causing three quick turnovers. They outscored the Bulldogs 17-8 in the fourth, but it was too late.

“Martinsburg is a very good, athletic team,” Smith said. “They have improved so much since the beginning of the season. We knew that coming in that they would be very tough. We left the locker-room to go onto the court and there was just no energy, no life, no spark and no enthusiasm from our guys, and it showed.”

Brandon Ashenfelter led Martinsburg with 19 points. Jean Eddy Cleriuss chipped in 17, and George Chase and Darren Arndt each scored 14.