January 15, 2011

By Robert Niedzwiecki
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- For the Millbrook High School boys' basketball team, its five 3-pointers were part of a beautiful work of art that it created in the first quarter - the Pioneers led by 10 after eight minutes.

But when Millbrook found itself trailing by 11 with 5:19 left, the time for artistry had long since passed - only its grit would do.

Millbrook's aggressiveness down the stretch helped it rally for a thrilling 65-63 Northwestern District victory against James Wood Friday night at Casey Gymnasium.

Rze Culbreath (18 points) hit two free throws with 17 seconds left after dashing down the lane to finally give Millbrook (7-5, 2-1 Northwestern) the lead for good, and his makes were part of a larger trend.

Down 57-46 with 5:19 left, the Pioneers attacked the basket and hit 10 of 13 free throws in addition to getting two key layups from Devin Call (team-high 21 points) in the final three minutes.

"Once we got aggressive [against James Wood's zone], we had a little success against it," Millbrook coach Scott Mankins said. "When we were passive against it, no success.

"We're standing on the outside trying to throw through it and over it. If you penetrate, we're going to get to the line. Once we started getting back to that [and saw we could penetrate], I think the confidence came."

James Wood (3-9, 0-2) - which began to turn things around with a 3-2 zone at the end of the first quarter and also had success with its 1-3-1 - appeared to have grasped control early in the fourth quarter, thanks mainly to the play of electric freshman guard Ryland Williams (31 points - 23 of which came in the second half - on 13-of-16 shooting). But as Mankins said, this Pioneers team is used to playing in close games, and they weren't fazed by letting such a big lead go to waste.

A 7-0 run cut their deficit to 57-53, and their aggressiveness continued to pay off with 2:54 left - Cody Brooks was blocked by T.J. Bruce, but Call (team-high 21 points) leapt up for the rebound and quickly popped back up for a bucket to make it 59-55.

Down 61-59, Call made a beautiful spin move for a layup to tie the score with 1:32 left. But after a free throw by Donte' Harris (12 points) put Millbrook up one, Williams hit the shot of the night - a high-arcing mid-range rainbow near the left side that went over the outstretched arm of a leaping Call with 28 seconds left.

"[Williams] had a great night," Call said. "I've played with him long ago, and he improved a lot. It was hard contesting him - he was hitting them in my face the whole time, and I just like, 'Miss it, miss it, miss it.' Then he made them. I was like, 'C'mon Ry, you've got to miss that.'"

The Pioneers came right back though - Culbreath saw an opening and drove the lane and was fouled with 17 seconds left.

The pressure-packed moment was no big deal for Culbreath.

"I had confidence," he said.

The Colonels had a chance to tie or regain the lead, but Chris Skinner (nine points) missed a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc, and Call ripped down the rebound and was fouled with 1.9 seconds left. After hitting a free throw at the other end, Culbreath stole James Wood's full-court inbounds pass to seal it.

James Wood coach Al Smith said the possession on which Skinner missed his 3-pointer didn't go how he drew it up - it was originally designed to go to another player, and he would have preferred to see James Wood attack the rim rather than settle for the outside shot.

But Smith said he was impressed with how his team adjusted after a rough start - the Colonels just need to fine-tune some things before they can be the team they want to be.

"We need a little more work handling pressure in the backcourt, because they got some turnovers on that," Smith said. "And we've got to work on keeping our composure late in the game when it's close and execute on offense. If we get those two things down, I think we'll be a much improved basketball team."

Millbrook showed it can play with poise down the stretch - the Pioneers just don't want to be in a position where they have to always demonstrate it, particularly in games in which they lead 23-13 after one quarter.

"We've got to quit the rollercoaster," Mankins said. "It's been a rollercoaster season and a rollercoaster within games. Got to get the ship on steady seas. If we can do that and get the consistency, the better off we'll be."

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