Skinner’s clutch shots lead Colonels to win

By Mark Sawyer
Special to The Winchester Star

Winchester — Just over three weeks ago, the James Wood High School boys’ basketball team scored only 49 points in an 11-point loss at Fauquier.

The Colonels have done some growing up in the time in between, which showed in their 63-57 non-district win over the Falcons Friday night at Donald H. Shirley Gymnasium.

“I’m happy and a little frustrated also,” James Wood coach Al Smith said. “We played well, but there were times where we were just too much in a hurry. Fortunately, we came out with a win and to me, that’s a quality win and I’m very happy with that.” On two occasions — once in the first half and once in the second half — it appeared James Wood (8-10) was well on its way to a blowout win, building double-digit leads.

But both times Fauquier battled back and forced the Colonels to win it down the stretch.

Senior Trae Tinsman, typically Wood’s go-to player, did his part, but sophomore Chris Skinner proved to be the Colonels’ clutch performer.

Skinner knocked down a pair of huge 3-pointers in the second half and was one of four Colonels in double figures with 14 points. Most importantly, he was 6 for 6 from the free throw line, including four makes in the last 16 seconds.

“He’s been struggling at the free-throw line, and it’s good to see him hit those free throws right there,” Smith said. “It’s good for him, and I hope it builds some confidence for him at the free-throw line.”

The Colonels held a slim 26-24 halftime lead after the Falcons closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run thanks in part to four consecutive Wood turnovers.

Over the first seven minutes of the third quarter, Wood built the lead back to double figures and took its biggest lead of the night, 45-33, on a Brock Lockhart free throw with 1:10 left in the period.

Fauquier cut the deficit to eight (47-39) heading into the fourth and tied the score 53-53 with 4:01 left in the game.

Instead of panicking the Colonels came right back, and they did it on a pair of beautiful assists from Chad Potter.

Immediately after the Falcons tied the game, Potter’s midcourt pass found Lockhart all alone under the basket for an easy layup that gave Wood the lead for good.

After a Fauquier free throw cut the lead to one the two teams exchanged turnovers giving the ball back to Wood in the Fauquier front court.

While the Falcons appeared to be disorganized and not ready, Potter quickly inbounded the ball three quarters court to a wide open Tinsman, who promptly buried a 3-pointer before Fauquier realized what happened.

From that point on it was a battle of free throws. The Falcons made three straight to cut the deficit to 58-57 before Tinsman hit one-of two for a two point lead.

The Falcons went scoreless on their next two possessions, forcing them to foul and put Skinner on the line.

“I’ve been working hard — we’ve all been working hard on free throws,” Skinner said. “I was ready to play. I was ready to hit them. I wanted to hit them.

“They beat us by 11 last time, so this is definitely a confidence boost. This definitely means a lot.”

Trailing first-place Sherando by a game and a half in the Northwestern District standings, the Colonels know that anything can happen in the last two weeks before the district tournament.

“The district is wide open,” Smith said. “We’re getting better at the right time. We need to be playing our best basketball, and we’re not there yet. We need to win one game at a time and we need to win out.”

Tinsman finished with 15 points to lead James Wood. Lockhart and Potter added 13 and 12, respectively.

The Falcons were led by Tyler Lamper’s game-high 18 points, which included four 3-pointers. Darious Stanford scored 15, and Alan Marchese chipped in 11.