Handley boys pull away late to clinch spot in state tournament
- By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI THE WINCHESTER STAR | The Winchester Star
Handley’s Kevin Curry throws down a dunk in the second half with 3:02 remaining as Woodgrove’s Brock Redman (42) watches during Tuesday’s Region 4C semifinal game. Curry had 16 points in the Judges’ 76-67 victory.
- Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star
Handley’s Michael Brown (10) takes a jump shot during Tuesday’s Region 4C semifinal game with Woodgrove. Brown scored a team-high 20 points in the Judges’ 76-67 win.
- Ginger Perry/The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — The Woodgrove boys’ basketball team made a strong statement at the start of Tuesday night’s Region 4C semifinal game against Handley, but the Wolverines couldn’t answer the Judges when it counted most.
Handley fell behind 8-0 after two minutes and missed its first seven shots.
But in the fourth quarter, the Judges made seven of their first eight shots, forced seven turnovers while committing only one, and made 7 of 9 free throws to outscore the Wolverines by eight points and pull away for a 76-67 win at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium.
The win puts Handley (22-3) in Thursday’s 7 p.m. Region 4C final against defending Class 4 state champion Loudoun Valley (24-1) — an 89-62 winner over Millbrook in Thursday’s other semifinal — and clinches a second straight state tournament berth for the Judges. The VHSL quarterfinals will be either March 2 or 3.
“The last few games we’ve come out and just been on a roll from the beginning,” said Handley coach Jason Toton, whose team went on an 11-2 run over four minutes after Woodgrove closed to within 65-62 with 4:09 left in the game. “It was good to deal with some adversity and overcome that.”
For the first three quarters, whether or not the Judges would be able to do that was very much in question.
Handley settled down after the rough start and led 39-35 at halftime. But led by 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Brock Redman (30 points) and junior guard Alex Owen (24 points, including five of the Wolverines’ nine 3-pointers), Woodgrove refused to go away.
The Wolverines trailed 52-51 after three quarters, and Redman’s bucket 30 seconds into the fourth quarter gave Woodgrove a 53-52 lead.
Handley junior guard Kevin Curry (16 points, eight rebounds, five steals) — whose steal and dunk in the middle of that 11-2 fourth-quarter run delivered some of the loudest roars of the night — said the Judges were so amped up for Tuesday’s game that they were playing out of the control at the start.
The Wolverines did an excellent job all night of mixing up their zone looks and holding the Judges to 21-of-52 shooting through three quarters.
But in the fourth quarter the Judges were a perfect blend of poise and aggressiveness.
Ten seconds after Redman’s basket, Brown sliced through the middle of Woodgrove’s defense for a layup that wound up putting Handley in the lead for good at 54-53.
“I probably waited too long to attack the zone,” said Brown, who scored 11 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. “It was open, but I just stayed back to allow my team to pass it around. But [in the second half] I did a better job of attacking it when it was open.”
Ra’Shaad Morris (10 points) then tracked down a pass thrown into the Woodgrove backcourt from underneath Handley’s basket for a 56-53 lead.
Those two plays set the tone for the fourth quarter, and then a possession halfway through the fourth quarter kick-started the stretch in which the Judges took control of the game.
After Redman scored to make it 65-62 with 4:09 left, Handley waited and passed patiently on the ensuing possession.
After 57 seconds, Handley junior Sam Wise (five points, six rebounds) — who earned rave reviews from Toton for his play and hustle on both ends of the floor — saw an opportunity.
He drove into the middle of the lane from the left side of the floor and fired a bounce pass between two defenders to D’Andre James (13 points), who was stationed on the left block. James went up, absorbed contact from Redman as he rose to fire up the shot, and went it went in James screamed. He made the free throw to make it 68-62.
On the next possession, Redman dribbled and approached the top of the key, and Curry left the player he was defending and attacked. He stole the ball from Redman, ran down the floor and fired in his second dunk of the game to make it 70-62 with 3:02 left in the game.
“We did better with our pressure in the second half,” Curry said.
Redman scored with 2:34 left to make it 70-64. But the Judges continued to force turnovers and missed shots, and two free throws each from Brown and Curry and a pretty no-look pass from Brown to James for a layup led to a 76-64 advantage.
Woodgrove coach Steve Douglas thought his team did a great job of executing its offense, knocking down outside shots and getting the ball to Redman near the basket for three quarters.
But he credited the Judges for stepping up on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter.
“They exploited some of our weaknesses in the zone, and they just made some big plays,” Douglas said. “Their tenacity and their relentless pressure created some turnovers down the stretch, and against a team like that you can’t have that.
“But I was pleased with our effort, and I’m tickled with this team for what they’ve done this season after winning five games last year.”
Handley will now take on the team that beat Woodgrove for the Dulles District championship. Loudoun Valley beat the Judges 78-68 on Jan. 6 this year, and 64-63 in last year’s 4A West Region title game. Those two matchups were also in Purcellville.
“We wanted to play them in the regular season because we wanted to put ourselves in a hostile environment, because we know when we go over there it’s not going to be easy,” said Toton, whose team was within 66-62 with two minutes left in this year’s game with the Raiders, but then had Curry and Gus Wise foul out. “We’re looking forward to the rematch.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at
rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com Follow on Twitter @WinStarSports1
