Central beats William Monroe 56-41 Tuesday night - Next up is a trip to Fairfax to take on George Mason then a home game against James Wood on Saturday.
Central-Woodstock goes to 13-0
- Thread starter chsfalcons
- Start date
Defense sparks Falcons past Dragons
Central’s Dominic Strother reaches for the ball as he is surrounded by a group of William Monroe defenders during basketball action Tuesday night in Woodstock.
Central’s Alex Neff puts up a shot under pressure from William Monroe defenders during basketball action Tuesday night in Woodstock.
WOODSTOCK — Central’s defense has been one of its strong suits all season and on Tuesday night it was the difference in the game.
Central held William Monroe to just one field goal in the fourth quarter as the Falcons pulled away for a 56-41 victory in Class 3 Northwestern District boys basketball action.
“They got some guys that shoot the ball really well — a couple guards for them,” Central boys basketball coach Jeff Whittle said of the fourth-quarter defense. “It’s a credit to us knowing where they were, and I think some of it they had a couple clean looks that just didn’t go in.”
William Monroe turned up its defensive pressure in the third quarter and caused four Central turnovers which led to points.
The Dragons used a 6-0 run to cut the Central lead to 41-35 with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. Central junior guard Brett Barr scored in the final seconds of the quarter for a 43-35 lead.
Central 6-foot-5 senior forward Kelan Hoover got a steal and a layup to extend the lead to 45-35 with 7:18 left in the game.
William Monroe sophomore guard Troy Jones drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 45-38 with 6:53 left, but it would be the last basket of the game for the Dragons. William Monroe missed its last eight shots.
The Falcons (13-0, 5-0 Class 3 Northwestern) have now held opponents to 47 points or less in five straight games.
“We mixed up some of our defenses. I think our defense has been a big key,” Whittle said. “That’s a credit to our guys, and I thought we’ve been rebounding the ball well too.”
The Falcons pulled away from the Dragons with an 11-0 run. Central 6-foot-8 junior center Dominic Strother had nine of the 11 points, including five at the free-throw line.
Central 6-foot-2 senior forward/guard Alex Neff said that it was good for the Falcons to face some adversity like they did at the end of the third quarter.
“It’s good to have pressure like that against us and be able to fight through it,” Neff said. “And come back and pull ourselves back up in the lead we were in.”
Lately, the Falcons have been getting off to slow starts, but on Tuesday they made sure to start off fast. They raced out to a 9-1 lead and led the entire game.
The Dragons (7-6, 3-3 Class 3 Northwestern) were able to use a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 21-20 with 4:21 left in the first half. Central responded with a 9-2 run to finish the half.
Strother went 9-for-9 from the foul line. He said the team has been working extra hard on free throws in practice.
“It feels great to be 9-for-9 because that’s all that we’ve been doing in practice is just getting up shots and making free throws,” Strother said. “We’ve been slacking on free throws lately so we’ve just been shooting free throws. So that’s what helped me go 9-for-9 tonight.”
It was a physical game, especially inside the paint and Neff said that’s just what the Falcons needed.
“I think it was a good thing for us, because we hadn’t played a very physical game yet,” Neff said. “And we’re going to play physical games like that in the playoffs. So we got to keep playing them and we got to fight through it.”
The win improves Central to 13-0, but Whittle said his team still hasn’t played at its best level
“We’ve got a great team,” he said. “I still don’t think we’re playing our best ball, which is good. So hopefully we’ll continue to get better each and every day and we play our best ball here at the end of the season.”
The Dragons were led by Troy Jones with 16 points and Tucker Shifflett with 12 points.
Strother led the Falcons with 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocks and Neff had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hoover had nine points and 16 rebounds and Silas Ruhling had nine points.
The Falcons play at rival George Mason on Friday. Both teams have moved up from Class 2 to Class 3 this season and both are undefeated in the district this year. Last year, the Mustangs advanced to the Class 2 state tournament and beat the Falcons three times during the season.
“Last year, I think we lost to them three times, so I don’t want to lose to them again,” Strother said. “George Mason, they’ve been a pretty good team the past two years I’ve played them. So we’re just looking for this win to go 14-0.”
- By Tommy Keeler Jr. The Northern Virginia Daily
- Jan 22, 2020
Central’s Dominic Strother reaches for the ball as he is surrounded by a group of William Monroe defenders during basketball action Tuesday night in Woodstock.
- Rich Cooley/Daily
Central’s Alex Neff puts up a shot under pressure from William Monroe defenders during basketball action Tuesday night in Woodstock.
- Rich Cooley/Daily
WOODSTOCK — Central’s defense has been one of its strong suits all season and on Tuesday night it was the difference in the game.
Central held William Monroe to just one field goal in the fourth quarter as the Falcons pulled away for a 56-41 victory in Class 3 Northwestern District boys basketball action.
“They got some guys that shoot the ball really well — a couple guards for them,” Central boys basketball coach Jeff Whittle said of the fourth-quarter defense. “It’s a credit to us knowing where they were, and I think some of it they had a couple clean looks that just didn’t go in.”
William Monroe turned up its defensive pressure in the third quarter and caused four Central turnovers which led to points.
The Dragons used a 6-0 run to cut the Central lead to 41-35 with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. Central junior guard Brett Barr scored in the final seconds of the quarter for a 43-35 lead.
Central 6-foot-5 senior forward Kelan Hoover got a steal and a layup to extend the lead to 45-35 with 7:18 left in the game.
William Monroe sophomore guard Troy Jones drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 45-38 with 6:53 left, but it would be the last basket of the game for the Dragons. William Monroe missed its last eight shots.
The Falcons (13-0, 5-0 Class 3 Northwestern) have now held opponents to 47 points or less in five straight games.
“We mixed up some of our defenses. I think our defense has been a big key,” Whittle said. “That’s a credit to our guys, and I thought we’ve been rebounding the ball well too.”
The Falcons pulled away from the Dragons with an 11-0 run. Central 6-foot-8 junior center Dominic Strother had nine of the 11 points, including five at the free-throw line.
Central 6-foot-2 senior forward/guard Alex Neff said that it was good for the Falcons to face some adversity like they did at the end of the third quarter.
“It’s good to have pressure like that against us and be able to fight through it,” Neff said. “And come back and pull ourselves back up in the lead we were in.”
Lately, the Falcons have been getting off to slow starts, but on Tuesday they made sure to start off fast. They raced out to a 9-1 lead and led the entire game.
The Dragons (7-6, 3-3 Class 3 Northwestern) were able to use a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 21-20 with 4:21 left in the first half. Central responded with a 9-2 run to finish the half.
Strother went 9-for-9 from the foul line. He said the team has been working extra hard on free throws in practice.
“It feels great to be 9-for-9 because that’s all that we’ve been doing in practice is just getting up shots and making free throws,” Strother said. “We’ve been slacking on free throws lately so we’ve just been shooting free throws. So that’s what helped me go 9-for-9 tonight.”
It was a physical game, especially inside the paint and Neff said that’s just what the Falcons needed.
“I think it was a good thing for us, because we hadn’t played a very physical game yet,” Neff said. “And we’re going to play physical games like that in the playoffs. So we got to keep playing them and we got to fight through it.”
The win improves Central to 13-0, but Whittle said his team still hasn’t played at its best level
“We’ve got a great team,” he said. “I still don’t think we’re playing our best ball, which is good. So hopefully we’ll continue to get better each and every day and we play our best ball here at the end of the season.”
The Dragons were led by Troy Jones with 16 points and Tucker Shifflett with 12 points.
Strother led the Falcons with 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocks and Neff had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Hoover had nine points and 16 rebounds and Silas Ruhling had nine points.
The Falcons play at rival George Mason on Friday. Both teams have moved up from Class 2 to Class 3 this season and both are undefeated in the district this year. Last year, the Mustangs advanced to the Class 2 state tournament and beat the Falcons three times during the season.
“Last year, I think we lost to them three times, so I don’t want to lose to them again,” Strother said. “George Mason, they’ve been a pretty good team the past two years I’ve played them. So we’re just looking for this win to go 14-0.”
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