Recommend This StoryBack in action: Defense carries Handley to victory over James Wood
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By Tommy Keeler Jr. - tkeeler@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER - James Wood and Handley showed the expected signs of rust from having a long layoff due to last week's weather.
However, in the second half of Saturday's game, the Judges were able to shake off the rust using their defensive pressure to pull away with a 65-44 Northwestern District boys basketball victory. The Judges held James Wood to only 13 second-half points to move into a tie for first place in the district.
"They were talking about canceling the rest of the season and we would have been in third place," Handley sophomore Robbie Lawler said. "So, we knew we had to get this win because we really wanted to be in first place, or tied for first place, so we can get a good region seed."
The Judges (8-8, 5-3 Northwestern) led 34-31 at the half, but senior guard Mitch Smith took over at the start of the third quarter. Smith scored the Judges' first six points to push the lead to 40-34 with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
"[During halftime] coach [Tommy Dixon] got us real pumped up," Smith said. "He told us what we needed to do and we went out there and got it done."
Lawler followed Smith's scoring outburst with one of his own. Lawler converted a steal into a layup and then drilled a 3-pointer to help give Handley a 45-36 lead.
The Judges were able to get into the passing lanes more in the second half and took advantage of James Wood turnovers.
"We stepped it up a little bit," Dixon said of his team's defense. "We talked a little bit about applying more pressure. And I think we had a few more bodies able to get up and down the floor than I think they did."
Handley senior Jeremiah Wilson capped off the quarter with a steal and a layup for a 51-37 lead. Handley continued to pull away early in the fourth quarter.
Handley's Kenny Griffin scored seven points off the bench in the first four minutes of the quarter to help give the Judges a 62-41 lead.
"We have a lot of guys and [the key is] just fitting them in at the right time," Dixon said. "I think Derek [Dowrey] got the big charge for us. Nolan Potts came in for us and did a good job for us. A lot of it is getting these guys to go in and make something happen at the right time."
It was the first game for the Colonels (8-11, 3-3) in over two weeks. The last time they played was Jan. 29. James Wood coach Al Smith said the Colonels had only one practice all week and it showed.
"Our execution was bad. Our timing on offense was not good and a lot of that comes from inactivity," Smith said. "The stuff we've run early in our offense -- they forgot about it or I don't know -- we weren't executing."
The Colonels were led by Brock Lockhart with 10 points.
The Northwestern District is the only district in the region that decided to play out the regular season after missing more than a week due to last week's snowstorms. The Colonels had the most games left to play, but if they could have won their remaining games, they would have been the outright district champions.
James Wood plays Skyline on Tuesday and Millbrook on Wednesday. If the Colonels win both those games there would be a three-way tie for the regular season title, which would secure a regional berth for each squad.
"We've got Skyline and Millbrook coming up and they're both must-wins as this one was," Al Smith said. "Hopefully we'll come in on Monday and have a good practice and get ready for Skyline."
The Judges were led by Lawler with 15 points, while David Carter had 14 and Mitch Smith had 10. Handley's regular season is now over and they are tied with Sherando atop the district with Skyline and James Wood also tied in the loss column.
Handley started the season off late, due to the football team advancing to the state semifinals. The Judges had to play a lot of games in a short period of time and have been up and down throughout the season. The players said the week off last week may be a good thing for them.
"We don't get a little time off, so we appreciated it," Mitch Smith said. "We always want to play, but at the same time you want to rest.
"We know we're tied for first place and there's [four] of us tied. We beat Sherando [on Feb. 3] and that gave us a push. Now I feel like we can go all the way."
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