WINCHESTER — When the members of Handley boys’ basketball got out of bed Monday morning, they didn’t know they’d be playing a game later that day. However, that didn’t impact their play during a road win over James Wood Monday night.
The Judges and Colonels’ contest was moved up 24 hours due to weather concerns, forcing Handley to play its third game in four days. Senior forward Christian Dinges was unfazed, scoring 36 points, including 20 in the first quarter, to lead his team to a 77-32 victory. This improved Handley to 13-5 and dropped James Wood to 3-12.
In addition to his scoring outburst, Dinges grabbed 10 rebounds, recorded five steals and blocked two shots. Dinges’ offensive performance was anchored by his ability to score in transition moments after grabbing a rebound or recording a takeaway, and Handley head coach Zach Harrell-Zook said he’s stressed to Dinges how impactful he can be going coast-to-coast.
“I’ve told Christian, ‘the best way for you to get uncontested opportunities to attack the basket is for you to get the rebound and go,’” Harrell-Zook said. “Christian’s point totals, if you look at all of his highest point totals, it’s all come in games where he’s had at least 10 rebounds.”
While Dinges was an essential part of his team’s victory, two recent additions to the starting five also stepped up. In his third straight start, freshman Asher Mattison scored 15 points, diverging from his normal 3-point production by scoring primarily inside the arc with four made twos and four made free throws.
Additionally, junior Silas Miller said he found out he was starting “five seconds before” the game started and responded by scoring 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, grabbing five rebounds and tallying two steals.
Harrell-Zook said Mattison’s abilities beyond the arc force defenses to account for him, creating “pick your poison” scenarios that allow a “freight train” like Dinges to have a clearer path toward the hoop. He added that Miller met expectations after being inserted into the starting five due to a disciplinary matter that had to be addressed.
“Silas, he’s going to come out, he’s gonna play hard, do everything we ask him to do,” Harrell-Zook said. “I thought he made a big impact on the game there, especially in that first quarter, [he helped] kind of set the tone. And then, the game was a slower pace from there.”
Miller and Dinges’ efforts were crucial, helping their team win the rebounding battle 33-17, including 8-5 on the offensive glass. Handley’s offensive rebounding numbers could’ve been higher had it not been so efficient, shooting 60% from the field.
The Judges jumped out to a 29-9 lead through one quarter, going up 8-4 at the 4:55 mark after Dinges scored on a steal-and-score. Later, after first grabbing a rebound and sprinting to the other end to finish at the rim, Dinges added a pair of 3-pointers, the second of which moved the lead to 25-9 at the 1:30 mark.
Finally, after James Wood’s Ashby Copenhaver tried to save a loose ball from going out of bounds, Dinges snagged and dunked the ball to give his team a 20-point lead. Dinges said Handley’s effort on defense created ample offensive looks to take advantage of.
“I think just playing hard on defense [was key]. It starts on defense,” Dinges said. “So if we play hard and get steals, we will get out in transition, and that makes it easy for us.”
Copenhaver and Brodie Sirbaugh got the second-quarter scoring started, allowing James Wood to cut the deficit to 29-14 with 7:20 left before halftime. Handley’s first points of the quarter came at the 5:11 mark when Miller recorded the first of his two putback layups, making it 31-14.
James Wood kept the ball out of Handley’s hands as much as possible, making extra passes to try creating optimal looks on extended possessions. Although the Colonels were getting clean looks, they weren’t converting consistently, shooting 2 of 8 in the quarter.
Handley sparked its offense by utilizing a full-court press, which led to turnovers and a solo 6-0 run for Dinges that elevated the lead to 40-14 with 2:30 left before halftime.
Miller added his second putback and a spin-move layup, giving him six points in the quarter with 38 seconds to go. After baskets by Timmy Campbell and James Wood’s Michael Bell, Handley entered the locker room with a 46-18 lead.
The Judges grabbed four offensive boards in the second quarter, and Harrell-Zook said increased emphasis on the glass this season has aided his team.
“I think it’s been a re-shifted focus for us. We’ve had to demand a little more, from a coach’s perspective, with it,” Harrell-Zook said. “Every time we give up an offensive rebound in any game … it’s a full-court plate push. We’re trying to get us to understand that [we] made it to the state semis last year and lost that game because we had 17 turnovers and we gave up 17 offensive rebounds. So, just really trying to instill good decision-making and understanding the importance of the glass.”
James Wood’s size disadvantage was apparent on the boards against Handley, but it stayed true to its game plan despite struggles in some areas. Sirbaugh looked most comfortable against Handley’s defense, scoring nine of his 12 points in the first half after making a three and finishing a reverse layup with his right hand.
Colonels’ head coach Paul Hvozdovic said he’s still working on ways to get his entire team involved offensively.
“Going into it from a scouting perspective, we wanted to control the tempo, and that tempo starts with when we have the basketball,” Hvozdovic said. “If we have a 30-second possession on offense, it’s not the end of the world. That means we’re moving the basketball, we’re moving our bodies and we’re continuously trying to get some open looks. I’m just trying to find an opportunity to think about getting our third, fourth and fifth guy scoring the ball for us.”
Coming out of the break, Handley added to its lead by outscoring the Colonels 19-8 in the third after scoring nine points off turnovers. Miller stole the ball and finished a transition layup with a hand in his face to make it 54-21 before a steal and dunk from Dinges made it 56-21 at the 3:58 mark.
Additionally, backup big ZeQuon Williams made a corner three and notched a steal that turned into points on the other end for Dinges. Williams got extended run after a second-quarter injury to starter Kyren Oglesby.
Harrell-Zook said Oglesby “got hit directly in the eye” after a fall under the basket, but said “it looks like he’ll be ok.” Additionally, Handley starting guard Jaevon Brisco was inactive due to a thumb sprain.
After a left-handed layup by Mattison capped off the third quarter and gave Handley a 65-26 lead, the Judges held James Wood to 2-of-8 shooting in the final quarter.
Mattison soared up for a layup to give his team a 67-27 lead with 6:10 remaining, securing a 40-point lead and a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Miller reached double figures with 4:26 to go, moving the lead to 71-29. Williams made another three with 3:48 left to play and Campbell made a free throw with 39 seconds left to record his team’s final point. Harrell-Zook called the win a good effort overall.
“For learning halfway through the day that we’ve got a game today instead of practice, and guys coming out and just focusing on playing hard and everything, I thought they executed well,” Harrell-Zook said.
The Judges will be back in action on Wednesday in a road game against Veritas Collegiate Academy in Arlington at 5:30. James Wood will next visit Millbrook at 7:30 on Friday.
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com
Follow him on X @jtuman21