Colonels outlast Eagles in triple OT

January 10, 2011

By David Selig
The Winchester Star       

WINCHESTER- Taking the court just 19 hours after a disappointing loss to Sherando, the James Wood boys' basketball team probably wasn't interested in slugging through a triple-overtime game Saturday evening.

But winning a triple-overtime game?

That might be just what the Colonels needed to shift their season in a different direction.

James Wood got 35 points from its bench and had just enough left in the tank to outlast visiting Clarke County 66-62 in a non-district game that took 44 minutes to settle.

"This is what we needed to push us," said sophomore guard Michael Carter, who scored a team-high 16 points off the bench and was one of four Colonels in double figures. "Oh my gosh, I cannot wait to play our next game. This is what we needed. It was no individuals. It was all a team effort, and that's what we have to focus on." The Colonels (3-7) took a 26-13 lead into halftime, but Clarke (6-5) finally found its shot in the second half and forced overtime when Carter couldn't connect on a contested buzzer beater in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Little did the players know they were settling in to play three extra four-minute periods.

An Ethan Emmart 3-pointer followed by a Stephan Bodkin free throw put the Eagles ahead 51-49 with 32 seconds remaining in the first OT.

But Mason Smith (10 points, seven rebounds) extended the game when he nailed a jumper from the foul line with four seconds left.

In the second overtime, the Colonels got their most important points from a player who didn't even get onto the floor in regulation.

Senior guard Tyler Murphy had been out of practice all week with an illness, and although he was able to warm up earlier Saturday, he said he didn't expect to get into the game.

That suddenly changed when starter Chris Skinner fouled out in the first OT.

"When he fouled out I looked at Tyler, and I wanted somebody that could be physical, because it was a physical game out there," James Wood coach Al Smith said. "I looked at Tyler and said, 'Can you go?' He came right in and played extremely hard, and it was actually the spark that we needed at that particular point in time."

Murphy went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final 1:12 of the second overtime, the second two tying the score at 59-59 with 29 seconds remaining.

Bodkin missed a jumper from the foul line in the final seconds to send the teams into yet another period.

Murphy (six points) scored on a cut to the hoop in the final overtime, and he helped seal the victory when he made a steal and passed ahead to Carter for a layup that put the Colonels ahead 65-62 with 25 seconds left.

Bodkin missed a contested 3-pointer in the final seconds, and Wood's T.J. Bruce secured the rebound and added a free-throw to end it.

"It was crazy," Carter said. "I've never been that excited in my entire life. Biggest game I've ever played."

Along with Murphy and Carter, senior David Alaniz added 10 points off the bench before fouling out, and freshman reserve Camden Butler also played key minutes and chipped in three points.

"This was definitely important," Murphy said. "We needed that energy. We haven't had it the past couple games, and I think we really needed the momentum to get going."

The Colonels were playing without junior Chad Potter, who sprained an ankle in the 74-60 loss to Sherando on Friday night. Al Smith said the junior guard is expected to miss today's game at Musselman (W.Va.), but the coach said it's possible he could be back for this Friday's district game at Millbrook, pending further tests.

Smith was particularly pleased by the way his team bounced back from the foul line after making just 19 of 38 from there the previous night. Wood finished 13 of 17 from the line Saturday and made 9 of 10 in overtime.

"To lose a game like that by missing free throws, I don't even want to think of what the mood would have been like in [our locker room]," Smith said. "But they made them, and they came up with big plays on the defensive end."

That mood might have matched the way Clarke County felt after the Eagles converted just 16 of 27 from the line and shot just 34 percent from the floor (compared to James Wood's 47 percent).

Grant Shaw poured in a game-high 25 points to go with five steals, but Emmart (11 points) and Bodkin (13 points, eight rebounds, five steals, three blocks) combined to score just one point in the first half, which had Clarke fighting from behind for much of the game.

Clarke coach Brent Emmart left before speaking to reporters Saturday night and could not be reached for comment Sunday.

The teams play again this Saturday in Berryville.

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