Millbrook boys end skid with victory over James Wood

WINCHESTER — Millbrook High School’s Chase Ford wasn’t in his usual spot in the Pioneers’ starting lineup on Monday thanks to a weekend trip that decided his future.

But when Ford finally got on the court late in the first quarter against James Wood, he was ready to make an impact. The senior scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the first half as Millbrook snapped a four-game losing streak with a 73-57 victory over the Colonels at Shirley Gymnasium.

Cohen Creswell added 15 points as the Pioneers (3-6 overall, 2-0 district) handed James Wood (3-6, 0-2) its third straight loss.

The versatile Ford was out of the lineup because he was busy attending to the next step in his best sport. On Saturday, the standout Pioneers outfielder committed to play baseball at Bridgewater College.

“I didn’t start tonight because I missed practice because of the Bridgewater thing,” said Ford, a .339 hitter with the Pioneers last spring. “I just wanted to make an impact in the game. I could have sat on the bench and moped because I didn’t start. I figured I need to help and lead the team like I have been. That’s just what I tried to do.”

With the Pioneers leading 22-18 in the opening quarter, Ford knifed to the basket twice. The first time resulted in a three-point play with 1:08 to go in the period and he added a layup on the next possession as Millbrook closed with a 6-0 run to take a 28-18 lead after one quarter.

“I watched film and I knew we could run on them,” Ford said. “That’s what I tried to do. Get out there and tell the guys to speed it up. Let’s get some quick buckets, play defense and buckle down.”

Ford would add eight more points in the second quarter and also assisted on a basket by Creswell, who had 11 points in the opening half.

First-year Pioneers coach Erick Green Sr. said that passing was the majority of Ford’s game to start the season.

“It’s funny because I can remember from the first time I took over I saw him passing the ball a lot,” Green said. “I kept saying, ‘What are you passing it for? Shoot the ball.’ But I think that [scoring] wasn’t a role he’d ever had. Now his confidence is high and he practices a lot. He has that shooter’s mentality. He’s done a great job leading this team and I’m proud to have him on my team.”

Ford, who scored 25 points in his previous game against Jefferson (W.Va.), said he had to switch gears out of necessity, though he still finished with six assists on Monday.

“To be honest, I was tired of losing,” the 6-foot guard said. “Somebody has to score the basketball. That’s my job and that’s what I’m going to do.”

The Colonels turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, which was somewhat perplexing for coach Tim Wygant since Millbrook wasn’t pressing his team.

“For the first time this season we can say — and kudos to Millbrook they did a great job of shooting and taking care of the ball — that we beat ourselves tonight,” said Wygant, whose team finished with 26 turnovers. “Millbrook finished the play that we handed to them. That’s on us.

“Turnovers have not really been an issue for us and it was absolutely the story tonight,” he said, adding the Colonels had not committed more than 15 in seven of their games. “I think it snowballed a little bit. We were trying to make some big plays, some big splash plays at some point. That’s not what we’re about.”

Wygant was upset that his team failed to take advantage of opportunities to rally in the second half.

Led by Ashton Kees, who scored 15 of his game-high 20 points after halftime, the Colonels opened the third quarter by going 6-for-6 from the floor. But thanks to seven turnovers, they were never able to get closer than 54-48 on Kemper Omps’ layup with 1:05 left in the period. Rylee Baker’s 3-pointer gave the Pioneers’ a 59-50 lead heading into the final quarter.

Keon Lewis and Ford scored to open the final period to extend Millbrook’s lead to 63-50 and the Colonels could not get closer than 10 points the rest of the quarter.

The frustrating part for Wygant was that his team held Millbrook to one basket over a more than four-minute span, but the Colonels wasted chances to slice the deficit.

“Our defense picked up in the fourth quarter and got stops,” Wygant said. “Those successful defensive possessions were undone by untimely turnovers and lack of focus and concentration on the offensive side.”

Green, who had monumental success leading the girls’ program at Millbrook, was just glad his squad could put a mark in the win column. Shawn Rooks added 11 points and Creswell grabbed seven rebounds in the triumph.

“When you are on a losing streak, it’s just good to get a win,” he said. “The kids came out with a lot of energy. They’ve been down a little bit because they’ve been losing, but to come out tonight with the energy I was really impressed. They played as a team, shared the ball and trusted each other. That’s what we’ve been teaching as a coaching staff — trust your teammates and just go out and execute. I’m really proud of them for going out there and giving the effort like they did.”

Green said the Pioneers, who are without injured starter Rich Pell, are starting to catch onto his system. “I think tonight was another step in the right direction,” he said.

Ford, who had a team-high 10 rebounds, agreed.

“We’ve played some tough teams to start,” he said. “This was a good game for us to get it rolling and we’re going to keep it going from here.”

The Pioneers next host Handley on Thursday.

Omps netted 14 for the Colonels, while Brodie Sirbaugh notched 11. Kees swatted five shots on defense.

James Wood played for the fourth time in seven days and has homes games slated for Wednesday against Jefferson and Thursday against Liberty.

“Yeah, the schedule is trying right now, but it should be the most fun,” Wygant said. “… They should be liking that. This one is one we should have had. It was not the performance I was expecting against a rival like Millbrook. ... What we need to work on right now is taking care of the basketball and guarding the basketball.”

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