Warriors outslug Skyline

View larger image Brady Cook View larger image Terry Wood

By Robert Edmonds - sports@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY-- Sherando hosted Skyline on Friday night in a pivotal Northwestern District boys basketball matchup. Both teams battled blow-for-blow, trading baskets throughout the evening. At the end of the night, however, it was the Warriors who outlasted the Hawks, 61-57.

"Any win that you can get in this district is very important," Sherando coach Garland Williams said. "As good as the teams in the district are, if there is a slip-up by one team there will be another ready to take advantage. We have to take care of the ball and play like we are capable every night. Our guys played well against a tough challenge from Skyline."

Skyline held the largest lead of the night when it led 12-4 in the first period. Sherando responded quickly going on a seven-point run led by Taylor Loudon. After an easy layup, Loudon recorded a steal and drove to the basket for another score. Then with time winding down, Loudon fed the ball to Brady Cook who knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull his team to within one.

Neither team would allow their opponent to pull away for the remainder of the game. Entering halftime, the Warriors held a one-point advantage, 26-25.

"They [Skyline] did a good job on defense tonight," Williams said. "They played our strengths well, and took away a lot of the things that we normally are able to do on offense especially early on."

When both teams came back out in the second half, it seemed apparent that Sherando's offensive attack was going to be run through the inside presence of Terry Wood.

"I asked our guys to work to get the ball inside to Wood," Williams said. "If Wood was double-teamed, I told him to try to kick it out. He did a very good job most of the night and didn't force things."

Wood scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the third quarter and when the Hawks double-teamed him, Wood was able to find his teammates with open looks from the floor. Despite the crisper feel of the Warriors attack in the third, Skyline managed to stay in the game as it entered the final period trailing by only five points.

The Hawks managed to retake the lead early in the period benefiting from second-chance opportunities. Sophomore Marcus Turner played a significant role in the Hawks ability to crash the boards on the offensive end of the floor.

"We had an incredible effort on offense tonight," Hawks coach Sonny Dyke said. "This was very possibly our best offensive performance of the season. We were strong rebounding and Marcus [Turner] was great and gave us some good second points."

A Turner putback gave Skyine a 51-50 lead with just minutes remaining in the game. Sherando bounced back with a layup from Loudon followed by a 3-pointer from Cook to regain control. With less than a minute remaining and trailing 57-55, Skyline's Joey Neidigh was sent to the foul line with a chance to tie the game.

Neidigh had already hit five free throws during the game, but the often reliable senior missed both shots and Sherando connected on a long outlet pass to Cook from Tanner Ruths to extend the Warriors' lead.

Forced to foul with time running out, Skyline sent Cook to the charity stripe. Cook solidified the thrilling victory, hitting two free throws.

"The game shouldn't have come down to those foul shots," Dyke said. "We missed a lot of layups early on in the game, and we were fortunate to be in that position. I am very proud of our team, however, for the effort and show of heart that they put out tonight. They are hurting, but they won't hurt for long. We had a lot of positives that we can take from tonight."