February 12, 2011
By Robert Stocks

FRONT ROYAL- Facing a winless James Wood team in the Northwestern District tournament play-in game turned out to be more than just a technicality for Skyline.

Three fourth quarter technical fouls on the Hawks gave the Colonels all the opportunity they needed to make the memory of an 0-8 district regular season disappear with one resounding victory.

The Colonels took full advantage of the trio of techs - two on Hawks coach Sonny Dyke and one on Cameron Taylor - to break open a tie game early in the fourth and pull away for a 73-58 victory on the Hawks' homecourt Friday night.

James Wood senior Mason Smith scored a season-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the No. 5-seeded Colonels (5-17) into Wednesday night's semifinals. They face top-seeded Millbrook at 6 p.m. (All games are at Skyline.) "I just knew I didn't want this to be my last game being 0-8 in the district," Smith said. "'Cause I know as a team we don't play like we're 0-8 in the district, so we definitely had something to say tonight, and I think we got our message across."

Skyline (15-8) trailed by as many as nine midway through the third quarter, but the Hawks rallied, closing the period with a 14-4 run to cut James Wood's lead to just 39-38 going into the fourth.

After Taylor tied the game with a free-throw, Dyke was called for a technical foul for disputing a referee's call with 7:10 left.

James Wood's Chad Potter knocked down both technical free throws, and on the ensuing possession Chris Skinner knocked down a 3-pointer to push Wood's lead to 44-39 with 6:50 remaining.

The Colonels pushed the lead to double digits after Taylor got a technical for disputing an offensive foul drawn by Smith.

Potter knocked down two more technical free throws, and Michael Carter's layup on the ensuing possession stretched Wood's advantage to 52-42 with five minutes left.

Skinner (14 points) followed that with a three-point play to push the lead to 55-42 with 4:49 remaining.

The Colonels put the game out of reach after Dyke was called for his second technical (resulting in his ejection) while disputing another foul call against his team that sent Skinner to the line for a pair of free throws.

Skinner knocked down both, and Potter added two more technical free throws to stake Wood to a 61-44 lead with 3:52 on the clock.

The officials also had a disgruntled fan sitting in Skyline's cheering section escorted out of the gym by a police officer. The fan continued to show his displeasure by making the technical foul hand signal to the refs as he left.

James Wood led by as many as 23 and iced the game by going 15 of 16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. The Colonels shot 85 percent (22 of 26) from the line for the game.

"It was a real tight ball game until the technical fouls happened," James Wood coach Al Smith said. "We happened to knock down our free throws at a good time. It was just one of those games that was back and forth up until that point. In our case, in a close game late, we've lost our composure in the past. This time we were able to focus and stay with it and it happened to somebody else."

Dyke, who was clearly upset with calls throughout the first half, said he disagreed with the whistle that led to his second technical.

"It was [tied] there in the fourth quarter and we were getting ready to shoot a layup and [the ref] called a moving screen and then he T'd me up," Dyke said. "What can you say? It's a difference of opinion, I guess."

The Hawks never recovered from the technicals, but they did overcome a poor start to battle back into the game.

Skyline went 0 for 10 from the field to start the night before knocking down three 3-pointers to take an 11-9 lead into the second quarter.

Smith carried the Colonels in the first half, scoring eight of Wood's first 11 points before going to the bench with two fouls with 3:19 left in the second quarter.

Skyline led 13-11 when Smith took a seat, but the Hawks never really capitalized. Skyline took a 18-17 lead after Taylor knocked down a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left in the first half.

James Wood's Camden Butler beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to give the Colonels to a 20-18 lead at the break.

Skinner continued to be a big second-half performer for the Colonels, scoring 12 of his 14 points after the break. Potter chipped in 14, and Ryland Williams added 12.

The Colonels' first district win sets up a third matchup with Millbrook, who only beat Wood by a combined five points in the first two meetings.

"It's a new season and everybody's the same at this point," Skinner said. "You just have to show up, give it your all and show who's got the most heart."

Al Smith certainly saw that heart Friday.

"They've never ever given up, and they've always gotten up when they were beaten down," he said. "Tonight was hopefully a great life lesson for these guys. You keep working hard and you keep getting up and eventually some of those goals that you've set for yourself you'll start to achieve."

Taylor led the three Hawks in double figures with 17 points. Ryan Dyke scored 14 and Eli McEathron added 11, including three 3-pointers.

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