Taking the bait: Judges roar past Colonels

View larger image Handley’s Derek Dowrey head fakes James Wood’s Mel Savarese, left, and Chad Potter before a shot during Monday’s game in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image James Wood’s Michael Carter drives against Handley’s Solomon Finley during the second quarter of Monday’s game. Finley was called for a foul on the play. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Handley's Robbie Lawler drives and gets off a shot while defended by Cam Butler of James Wood during Monday's Northwestern District game in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Handley's Tre' Brown is defended by James Wood's Michael Carter (20) and Brett Lewin (44) during Monday's game in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Darion Robinson of Handley attempts a shot but is fouled by Michael Carter of James Wood during Monday's game in Winchester. Dennis Grundman/Daily

By Jerry Holsworth - sports@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Despite a determined effort by James Wood, Handley celebrated Senior Night and a Northwestern District championship with a solid 91-81 win over the visiting Colonels on Monday.

Although the Judges and Sherando have two losses each, the Warriors' two loses were to Handley, leaving the Judges regular-season champs and the No. 1 seed heading into the district tournament.

"This is something that these kids have worked hard for all year long, and I'm quite sure that they're very proud of it," Handley coach Tommy Dixon said.

James Wood has an opportunity for a rematch with its archrival. The Colonels will face Skyline in the first round of the tournament on Thursday. The winner will play Handley in the second round.

The Colonels can't complain about being forced out of their game Monday. James Wood hit 11 3-pointers, and were the recipients of 21 Handley turnovers. The play of the Judges' inside players, however, was just too much for James Wood to overcome.

Cameron Jackson, Derek Dowrey, and Darion Robinson were dominating in the paint, combining for 48 points. Each time the Colonels made a run at the Handley lead, the Judges' three big men were there to put out the fire.

"We played hard and, at times, I thought that we played well," Colonels coach Al Smith said. "Handley just had too many offensive rebounds and too many second opportunities out there. Their big men were the difference in the game."

Peyton Crickman got James Wood off to a terrific start, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the opening quarter. The Colonels sophomore got lots of support from Chad Potter and Michael Carter, who had nine first-period points.

For three minutes that was enough to give James Wood a narrow lead, but when Dowrey and Jackson started scoring in the paint, that lead was quickly erased. Dowrey had five first-period points, and Jackson came off the bench to add another four.

For Jackson, it was just the beginning of a spectacular night scoring, and it began late in the first period. After Brett Lewin scored on a tip-in with 11:6 left in the period, a free throw by Robinson and a layup by Jackson with just eight seconds left on the clock gave Handley a 19-18 lead.

James Wood got the lead back early in the second quarter, but back-to-back baskets by Jackson put the Judges back on top. Although Handley maintained the lead throughout the period, the Colonels were never far behind.

The Judges didn't help their cause by committing eight second-quarter turnovers, but Jackson and teammates Robbie Lawler and Kyle Murph kept James Wood at bay.

To do so, though, the Judges had to fight off the hot hand of Chad Potter, who had eight second-period points and 10 for the first half.

Lawler, however, was up to Potter's challenge, scoring seven of his 17 points in the second quarter, and found Jackson under the basket with passes to the Handley sophomore that resulted in four more points.

Murph added four points in the period, and Handley led 44-39 at intermission.

James Wood's best chance to take the game and deny the Judges the district title came early in the third quarter. Handley began the second half by missing their first five shots and committed three turnovers.

The Colonels, behind Ryland Williams' four points in the first three minutes of the second half, took advantage of the Judges' miscues to tie the game 46-all.

What James Wood couldn't overcome, though, was Jackson, who countered the Colonels' resurgence with 10 third-quarter points. That, plus a perfect 6 of 6 from the line by Robinson and Solomon Finley, gave Handley a 64-55 lead with just eight minutes to play.

"We played well in spurts and were able to get the win, and that's what's important in a game like this one," Dixon said. "Cameron [Jackson] is a work in progress, and he listens well and has improved steadily all season. One of our goals was to get the ball inside, and I think that Derek [Dowrey] did a good job early and Cameron did a good job late."

Any hope of a late comeback by James Wood was quickly shut down by Jackson and Robinson. Jackson scored another eight points in the final quarter to end the game with a team-high 26. Robinson continued his near-perfect night at the line, hitting two more free throws to finish the game 7 of 8.

Potter, however, refused to allow Handley to get too far out of reach, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points for the Colonels, including a 4 of 5 performance at the line. He finished the game as James Wood's top scorer with 27 points.

"I'm extremely proud of our effort," Smith said. "We played them a lot better this time than when we played them earlier this season. We're looking towards the tournament now. We were able to beat Skyline the last time we played them, but to do it again we're going to have to have a really good effort by our kids."

Williams also scored in double figures for the Colonels with 15 points, and Carter contributed 13 for James Wood.

Besides Jackson, Robinson scored in double figures with 15 and Lawler finished the game with 17 points for Handley.