Quick start boosts Colonels to victory

By Greg Brill - sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- As a nice touch of sportsmanship, James Wood allowed Millbrook to have its senior night on the Colonels' floor prior to Thursday night's Northwestern District boys basketball play-in game.

But once the game started, it was James Wood sharp-shooting senior Trae Tinsman who made sure the Colonels' seniors would get to play at home again.

Tinsman collected game-highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds and the Colonels raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half on their way to a 67-59 win and a date with No. 1 seed Handley tonight (6 p.m.) in the district semifinal round at Donald Shirley Gymnasium.

"We had to come out from the start and show them would we could do," Tinsman said. "We had to pound them. If we [had lost] we were done. We didn't want [Wednesday's] practice to be our last practice, so we came out here and played real hard."

Since its final home date with the Colonels was canceled on Wednesday, Millbrook's seniors (T. J. Atlee, Ben Reid, and Rylan Banks all raised a hand to the crowd) were announced just before the starting lineups. Then after the teams traded points for the first three minutes, James Wood spoke loudly with its play on both ends.

The Colonels (9-12) went on a 21-1 run that bridged the first and second quarters to open a 26-7 lead. With point guard Chris Skinner (six assists) back running the controls (he missed Tuesday's loss against Skyline for undisclosed reasons), James Wood hit from inside and out to knock the Pioneers (6-14) back on their heels.

"We've been stressing that we want to play our best basketball in February," said James Wood assistant coach Tim Wygant, who led the Colonels in place of Al Smith, who had to miss the contest after he was ejected in Tuesday's game against Skyline. "The kids performed extremely well tonight. They've come together at the right time tonight and we are ecstatic about that."

The Colonels were coming off a pair of lopsided losses to Handley and Skyline, and Tinsman was held to four field goals and 13 points by Skyline on Tuesday. But the 6-foot-4 senior -- who signed on Thursday to play football next season at Division II Shepherd University -- was more than ready to inspire on Thursday as he began the second quarter by hitting a twisting jumper to the left of the foul line and was fouled by Boomer Kaczmarzewski on the shot.

Tinsman completed the conventional three-point play, and the Colonels were rolling.

While scoring at least 10 points in each half, Tinsman was quick to deflect any credit for his high scoring total.

"We definitely played as a team tonight," said Tinsman, one of three Colonels in double-digit scoring. "No one person stood out. We all contributed well, and that's why we won tonight. Our whole team doesn't worry about individual stuff."

The Colonels did well on the defensive end early and held Millbrook without a point in the second quarter until Devin Call made a free throw with 3:54 left.

While James Wood got out the gate fast, Millbrook struggled to find offense. The Pioneers did not have a basket between a layup by Reid (at the 5:31 mark of the first period) and Call's jumper off an offensive rebound (at the 2:43 mark of the second period).

Millbrook gradually fought its way back and closed the first half on a 9-2 run to trail 28-16 at the break. James Wood's Brock Lockhart was called for a technical foul for swinging his elbows after his rebound at the horn to end the first half, and Call (24 points and nine rebounds) made a pair of free throws before the second half got underway.

Donte Harris drained a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half and added a free throw to cut the Colonels' lead to six.

But in a game of runs, James Wood got nine more points from Tinsman in the period and two key baskets from Mason Smith to maintain a 12-point lead heading to the fourth.

The Colonels seemed to have the game well in hand, up 18, when Millbrook applied pressure and scored nine straight points -- all off turnover possessions. A steal and layup by Rze Culbreath (who scored all nine of his points in the fourth) with 3:20 left cut James Wood's lead to 56-47.

After Wygant then called for a timeout, the Colonels regained confidence. Mason Smith (12 points) scored the game's next points, and sophomore Chad Potter (14 points) hit a baseline runner, was fouled, and completed his three-point play. Two more free throws by Potter with 1:27 left sent the lead to 13 and James Wood salted the game away from there.