January 8, 2011
By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star


WINCHESTER- After Wednesday's loss to Washington (W.Va.) High School, Sherando junior center Terry Wood said the Warriors wanted to make a statement Friday night.

Consider it more of an exclamation point.

Sherando took the lead for good 1 minute and 21 seconds into the game and went on to an impressive 74-60 victory over James Wood in the Northwestern District opener for both teams at Shirley Gymnasium.

"We definitely wanted to come out and prove something," Wood said.

With 16 points and nine rebounds, Wood was one of the key figures in proving that the Warriors can be a dynamic team.

Sherando (5-6, 1-0) built a 58-38 through three quarters by doing pretty much whatever it wanted on offense (the Warriors out-shot James Wood 61 percent to 31 percent over that stretch) and grabbing almost every errant shot. The Warriors had a 30-17 rebounding through three quarters over the Colonels (2-7, 0-1). Sherando was able to pound the ball inside to its post players with great success from the tip, and the Warriors were able to keep doing it by hitting enough outside shots to keep the Colonels honest. Tre Porter (14 points) was the most productive, accounting for three of Sherando's five makes from beyond the arc.

"We were able to do some things that we wanted to do," Warriors coach Garland Williams said. "We wanted to get the ball in the paint, that was the main thing. We were able to get the ball in the areas that we wanted, and we made some nice shots. The guards did a good job with the entry pass, and we were able to get some breaking points also by getting down the court."

James Wood had success with its zone at times, but Sherando's big men Wood (6-foot-8), 6-4 George Asare (eight points, 10 rebounds) and Scott Markland (10 points) were able to execute an array of post moves and hit jumpers from close range.

"We had to find holes in that defense," Porter said. "I think we got it to the arc, and then we looked down low and made buckets."

The Colonels got into a good flow at times at well and had opportunities to take control in the first half. But they couldn't hit their free throws - they made just 7 of 18 in the first half - and they allowed Sherando to get on far too big of a role in the final four minutes of the first half.

James Wood trailed just 25-20 at that juncture, but the Warriors outscored them 11-6 over the remainder of the half to to take a 36-26 halftime lead.

Sherando then made its first four field goals of the second half en route to taking a 52-30 lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter, which tied the Warriors second biggest lead of the game.

The Warriors' never stopped hustling - Markland dove for a ball near midcourt and tapped it to Taylor Ruths just before it went out, and he was rewarded for that effort with a short jumper just a few seconds later that made it 50-30 with 3:01 left in the quarter.

"Coach tells us to just keep it going, just keep putting the pressure on them, and I guess that's what we did," said Porter of Sherando's start to the second half. "We kept pushing the ball down their throat, and it hurt them pretty bad."

Though the Colonels never made a serious run at the lead in the second half, James Wood coach Al Smith said Friday was a winnable game.

"We didn't execute as well as we would have liked to," he said. "We were 19 of 38 from the free-throw line, and we lost by 22 points. We missed some shots from close in that we should have knocked down.

"We played well enough to win, we played with heart. Some little things. If we concentrate [on free throws] and make those, then we don't have to come in and gamble right there at the end on offense and defense and give us some easy layups. We get the stops that we're capable of getting.

"It could have been a different game if we knocked those free throws down."

The Colonels were led by Chad Potter and Chris Skinner, who each had 13 points, and Darion Hardware, who chipped in 11.