Crunch time: James Wod beats Judges in semifinals

View larger image James Wood's Chad Potter, center, drives towards the basket against Handley's Terrance Sloane, right, as the Judges' Mitch Smith blocks his shot from behind during Friday's game. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image James Wood's Brock Lockhart tries to split the defense of Terrance Sloane and David Carter of John Handley. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image James Wood's Chris Skinner slips past Jeremiah Wilson for a layup. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Handley's Mitchell Smith ducks in front of Trae Tinsman of James Wood for a shot. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Ben Brooks - sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- With leading scorer Trae Tinsman hampered by foul trouble much of the second half and James Wood High School playing for its basketball postseason life Friday night, the Colonels turned to a host of others to step up.

And did they ever.

Brock Lockhart and Chad Potter poured in 18 and 14 points, respectively, and Cooper Franks came off the bench to add 12 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter of the Colonels' 71-59 upset victory over top-seeded Handley in the Northwestern District tournament semifinals at Shirley Gymnasium.

The fourth-seeded Colonels (10-12) now face Sherando in tonight's boys' tournament title game, also at James Wood. A win would give the Colonels three victories in three days and momentum heading into next week's Region II tournament.

"This was a completely different team than you saw last Saturday," said coach Al Smith, whose Colonels came into the district tournament with two straight defeats, including a 65-44 loss at Handley last Saturday. "This was the team we were getting to be before all the snow. We had a great practice on Wednesday. We talked about coming out tonight with great intensity and playing with passion."

"Coach was really pushing us hard in practice," Potter said. "All of the seniors were thinking this could be their last practice if we don't get it done."

Franks came into the game for good when Tinsman fouled out with 2:50 left and James Wood clinging to a 58-52 advantage. Handley quickly trimmed the deficit to four points when Jeremiah Wilson stole the ball from Franks near the sideline and went in for a layup. From that point on, however, Franks was money in the bank. The 6-foot-1 senior led a James Wood foul-shooting parade by hitting all eight of his fourth-quarter attempts to keep the Judges at bay.

"I really can't shoot," said a brutally honest Franks, who estimated his free-throw percentage to be around 60. "I just really wanted to beat Handley. I've never beaten them before. Once I hit the first one, I just got into a good rhythm. It's all about rhythm."

After missing its only two foul shots in the first half, James Wood made 17-of-19 the rest of the game.

Of course Wood, which lost both regular-season meetings to the Judges, did more than just make free throws. In addition to holding their own in the paint, the Colonels broke Handley's full-court pressure with relative ease. Not satisfied with merely getting the ball into the frontcourt, the Colonels aggressively went to the basket.

Lockhart was the main beneficiary for the Colonels when he consistently beat Handley players down the court for layups.

Late in the third quarter, Lockhart scored two consecutive baskets in transition from Potter assists -- one that resulted in a three-point play -- to help stake James Wood to a 43-40 lead going into the fourth period.

"We worked hard this week against pressure," Smith said. "We knew Millbrook liked to press and Handley will bring pressure.

"Once we broke the pressure, we wanted to look to attack."

Wood opened the fourth quarter with a 9-3 run. Three of the four baskets came on drives to the basket, the last of which by Franks on the baseline gave the Colonels their biggest lead to that point at 52-43.

Still, after starting center Mason Smith and Tinsman fouled out 18 seconds apart, there were a few anxious moments for the Colonels.

Handley (8-9) cut the deficit to four points three different times, but could get no closer. With the Judges down 63-59 in the final 30 seconds, both Terrance Sloane and David Carter missed down low in traffic. After that, Wood clinched it with 10 straight free throws.

"They did a good job doing what they had to do to win," said Handley coach Tommy Dixon, whose Judges have already secured a Region II playoff berth. "We didn't get people where we needed them to be. We turned them loose a lot and you just can't do that. We just have to pick our heads up and make something positive happen next week."

James Wood nearly finished with five double-figure scorers. Tinsman and Chris Skinner each had nine points.

Wilson led the Judges with 11 points. Carter and Mitch Smith added 10 and nine, respectively.

Even though his team was seeded fourth and had to survive a tournament play-in game against Millbrook, Potter never looked at the Colonels as true longshots to make it to the finals.