Riverside ends Handley boys' season in Region 4C semifinals
Handley's Kevin Curry (right) defends Riverside's Brett Asbury in the first quarter of Tuesday's Region 4C semifinal game at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium. The Rams won 50-47 in overtime to end the Judges' season.
Handley's Tyson Long (left) and D'Andre James pressure Riverside's Brett Ashbury in the first quarter of Monday's Region 4C semifinal game at Handley. The Rams won 50-47 in overtime.
Handley's Demitri Gardner prepares to shoot a jump shot before Riverside's Brian Barrett closes in on Tuesday at Handley. Gardner scored 11 points in the Judges' 50-47 Region 4C semifinal loss in overtime.
Kevin Curry had 14 points to lead Handley in its 50-47 loss in overtime in Tuesday's Region 4C semifinals at Handley. The loss prevented the Judges from clinching a Class 4 state tournament berth for the third straight year.
WINCHESTER — Another Handley boys' basketball season ended in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday night.
Riverside snapped the Judges' 13-game winning streak with a stunning 50-47 overtime win at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium in the Region 4C semifinals.
The Judges (21-3) saw their hopes of advancing to their third straight state tournament end when Kevin Curry's rushed 3-pointer from more than 30 feet out hit the front of the rim at the buzzer and bounced away.
That set off a loud reaction from the vocal fans of Dulles District Tournament champion Riverside (20-6) and made Judges fans wonder for the third straight season what might have been had just a play or two gone differently.
"[Riverside] made plays when they needed to, and the ball just didn't bounce our way tonight," said Handley coach Jason Toton, whose team hasn't been involved in a game decided by fewer than seven points since participating in the Panther Classic Holiday Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in December. "I'll take blame I guess for not preparing them and being ready for this situation. We had a few tight games down at [Myrtle Beach]. We haven't had any of late.
"I don't know if we came in thinking it wasn't going to be a tough game, or what. But give credit to Riverside. They're well-coached and they play hard. They made shots and they made plays, and we had our opportunities and didn't [convert]."
In 2017, Handley lost 66-65 to Jamestown in the Class 4 state semifinals when two close-range shots fell off the rim in the final seconds.
In 2018, the Judges lost in the state championship game when Lake Taylor's Dereon Seabron (headed to N.C. State next year) hit 1 of 2 free throws with just four-tenths of a second left in regulation to tie the game at 50. Lake Taylor went on to win 72-66 in double overtime.
On Tuesday, the Judges led by as much as 10 points in the second half and were up 38-30 with 7:32 left in regulation. Handley fell behind in overtime after being tied 44-44 with Riverside at the end of regulation, but the Judges had their chances at the end.
Sam Wise (46 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season) made only 1 of 3 free throw attempts after Riverside tied the game at 46 with 1:44 left, and the Judges (1 of 9 on 3-pointers over the last three quarters and overtime, 26.5 percent on 3's during the regular season) missed all three of their 3-point shots in the final 25 seconds.
"We ran the play that we wanted to both times [on two of the missed 3-pointers), but the ball just didn't go our way," Toton said.
Down 49-47, Handley got the ball to Tyson Long a few feet beyond the arc on the right wing with 25 seconds left, but he airballed a 3-pointer from the right wing. Riverside's Simon Weeren grabbed the rebound, forcing Judges point guard Sam Wise to commit his fifth foul. Weeren made only 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to push the Rams' lead to 50-47, leaving the Judges with another chance.
With 16 seconds left, Nick Hott inbounded the ball from the left sideline in the front court to Long. Long passed to Gardner (11 points), and he eventually got the ball to Curry in the right corner. Tightly guarded, Curry started dribbling back toward the center of the court and let an off-balance 3-pointer fly. The rebound went long and the ball deflected off Handley and out-of-bounds to Riverside.
"Coach was telling me when I got the ball, I had to shoot," said Curry, who scored a game-high 14 points. "He wanted me to shoot the ball. In past years, I probably wouldn't have tried that shot and passed it somebody else. But I see it as confidence built up from years past and coach believing in me. I missed the shot, but it still feels good that I shot the shot, because I wouldn't have shot the shot last year or the year before that."
The Judges' immediately fouled Beau Everett after he caught the inbounds pass. He missed both free throws, and Gardner grabbed the rebound of Everett's miss and ran up the court. Gardner's initial shot from mid court was blocked. Curry grabbed the deflection and shot the ball from deep, only to see the ball bounce off the front of the rim. This came after his shot beyond half court at the end of regulation bounced off the back of the iron.
If not for turnovers, the Judges might not have needed long-range accuracy at the end. Handley made 14 of them from the start of the second quarter until the end of game, and made some costly ones in overtime.
With the Judges up 46-44, Long had the ball stolen from him near mid court, leading to Curry fouling Weeren as he attempted a layup on a breakaway. Weeren made both free throws to tie the game at 46-46. After Everett's layup with 1:12 left gave Riverside a 48-47 lead, Curry had the ball stolen from him. D'Andre James (nine points) then fouled Weeren for his fifth foul with 51 seconds left, and Weeren hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 49-47 Rams.
Riverside mostly played man defense in the second half after mainly using a zone in the first half. Starting in the second half — which saw the Judges leading 24-17 at the start — Toton felt the Judges' struggled with their approach against Riverside at times, and some of their mistakes in overtime were examples of that.
"In the second half, they were up on us, and I thought we were trying to do too much with the ball instead of trying to keep it simple and get around our man," Toton said. "We were trying to go in between our legs and behind our back, trying to do one too many things."
Curry said the intensity that Riverside played with on defense in the second half wasn't something the Judges were accustomed to.
"We're not used to seeing teams come up and actually put pressure on us," Curry said. "Most teams usually back off against us and play 2-3 [zone]. They had a good [zone], but I think what really hurt us is when they pressed and pushed up on us."
Riverside coach Mike Koscinski said his team wanted to mix up its defensive looks. It played more zone than it wanted to in the first half because of foul trouble, but ultimately he wanted to apply pressure to Handley because of its reliance on its starters. No one on the Judges' bench averages more than eight minutes per game.
"We were hoping to put pressure on them and wear them down," Koscinski said. "We were hoping to kind of speed them up."
Toton said he felt the Judges also struggled to get back in transition at times against Riverside, which hit 12 of 30 shots from the start of the second quarter until the end of the game (Handley led 12-7 after one quarter).
Koscinski said his team felt a little deflated at the start of halftime after Handley ended the first half on a 11-2 run, a stretch that saw Judges convert blocks on defense into points on offense twice. Curry had two blocks on one possession.
But but by the time halftime was over they were refocused and ready to go, and Koscinski was impressed with the effort that launched the comeback.
"We have that no-quit attitude in us," Koscinski said. "This is a great team win for us."
Though the Judges might not have made all the plays it needed to make, the effort was certainly there.
In regulation, Curry had two huge layups in the final three minutes of regulation after making long drives to the basket for 42-40 and 44-41 Handley leads. (Brett Asbury's traditional three-point play following a putback with 54 seconds left for Riverside provided the final points in regulation and tied the game at 44-44.) And after slipping and turning the ball with 14 seconds left, Curry then stole the ball from Asbury before he could attempt his final shot.
Despite making some big plays later, Curry couldn't help but be disappointed in himself.
"I turned the ball over a couple of times, and I feel like I didn't play the best defense either," Curry said. "That hurt. It's my last game, and turning the ball over as many times as I did, I think this is my worst game handling the ball. It definitely hurts to see that."
It hurt everyone on Handley to see the season come to such an early end. Still, it was a pretty good year if you consider that Handley lost three starters who are currently either playing college basketball or football from last year's state finalist team.
The Judges were Northwestern District regular season champions for the fourth straight year, and they won their third straight district or conference tournament title this season.
"A lot of people doubted us before the season," Curry said. "That was a big step for us, winning district this year. I see them doing big things next year, too, so that's good for these guys coming back to win a district championship this year. Hopefully they can win regionals next year and go for a state championship. That's the goal every year."
Handley will lose four-year varsity members Curry and James and three-year members Wise and Long — all starters — from this year's team. The Judges — whose bench includes seniors Jack Pollak, Jadie Lawrence and Troy Thompson — have posted a record of 86-18 over the last four seasons.
"All those kids, those seniors especially, they have nothing to be ashamed of," Toton said. "Their varsity record is pretty phenomenal. Winning over 20 games the last three years [and losing a total of 10], they've done a really good job. They've set the bar high for next year's team.
"I think coming into the season, everybody thought we'd be long shots [to achieve the success of last year]. I give credit to the players for buying in, coming in every day, working hard and trying to prove people wrong. It just didn't work out for us tonight."
Riverside clinched a state tournament berth with Tuesday's win and will play at Loudoun Valley, a 49-46 winner over Kettle Run in Tuesday's other semifinal. The Rams were led in scoring by Asbury (12 points) and Everett (11) on Tuesday. This year's region and state berths are firsts for Riverside in its four-year history.
- By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI The Winchester Star
- Feb 20, 2019
Handley's Kevin Curry (right) defends Riverside's Brett Asbury in the first quarter of Tuesday's Region 4C semifinal game at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium. The Rams won 50-47 in overtime to end the Judges' season.
Handley's Tyson Long (left) and D'Andre James pressure Riverside's Brett Ashbury in the first quarter of Monday's Region 4C semifinal game at Handley. The Rams won 50-47 in overtime.
Handley's Demitri Gardner prepares to shoot a jump shot before Riverside's Brian Barrett closes in on Tuesday at Handley. Gardner scored 11 points in the Judges' 50-47 Region 4C semifinal loss in overtime.
Kevin Curry had 14 points to lead Handley in its 50-47 loss in overtime in Tuesday's Region 4C semifinals at Handley. The loss prevented the Judges from clinching a Class 4 state tournament berth for the third straight year.
WINCHESTER — Another Handley boys' basketball season ended in heartbreaking fashion on Tuesday night.
Riverside snapped the Judges' 13-game winning streak with a stunning 50-47 overtime win at Maddex-Omps Gymnasium in the Region 4C semifinals.
The Judges (21-3) saw their hopes of advancing to their third straight state tournament end when Kevin Curry's rushed 3-pointer from more than 30 feet out hit the front of the rim at the buzzer and bounced away.
That set off a loud reaction from the vocal fans of Dulles District Tournament champion Riverside (20-6) and made Judges fans wonder for the third straight season what might have been had just a play or two gone differently.
"[Riverside] made plays when they needed to, and the ball just didn't bounce our way tonight," said Handley coach Jason Toton, whose team hasn't been involved in a game decided by fewer than seven points since participating in the Panther Classic Holiday Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in December. "I'll take blame I guess for not preparing them and being ready for this situation. We had a few tight games down at [Myrtle Beach]. We haven't had any of late.
"I don't know if we came in thinking it wasn't going to be a tough game, or what. But give credit to Riverside. They're well-coached and they play hard. They made shots and they made plays, and we had our opportunities and didn't [convert]."
In 2017, Handley lost 66-65 to Jamestown in the Class 4 state semifinals when two close-range shots fell off the rim in the final seconds.
In 2018, the Judges lost in the state championship game when Lake Taylor's Dereon Seabron (headed to N.C. State next year) hit 1 of 2 free throws with just four-tenths of a second left in regulation to tie the game at 50. Lake Taylor went on to win 72-66 in double overtime.
On Tuesday, the Judges led by as much as 10 points in the second half and were up 38-30 with 7:32 left in regulation. Handley fell behind in overtime after being tied 44-44 with Riverside at the end of regulation, but the Judges had their chances at the end.
Sam Wise (46 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season) made only 1 of 3 free throw attempts after Riverside tied the game at 46 with 1:44 left, and the Judges (1 of 9 on 3-pointers over the last three quarters and overtime, 26.5 percent on 3's during the regular season) missed all three of their 3-point shots in the final 25 seconds.
"We ran the play that we wanted to both times [on two of the missed 3-pointers), but the ball just didn't go our way," Toton said.
Down 49-47, Handley got the ball to Tyson Long a few feet beyond the arc on the right wing with 25 seconds left, but he airballed a 3-pointer from the right wing. Riverside's Simon Weeren grabbed the rebound, forcing Judges point guard Sam Wise to commit his fifth foul. Weeren made only 1 of 2 free throws on the other end to push the Rams' lead to 50-47, leaving the Judges with another chance.
With 16 seconds left, Nick Hott inbounded the ball from the left sideline in the front court to Long. Long passed to Gardner (11 points), and he eventually got the ball to Curry in the right corner. Tightly guarded, Curry started dribbling back toward the center of the court and let an off-balance 3-pointer fly. The rebound went long and the ball deflected off Handley and out-of-bounds to Riverside.
"Coach was telling me when I got the ball, I had to shoot," said Curry, who scored a game-high 14 points. "He wanted me to shoot the ball. In past years, I probably wouldn't have tried that shot and passed it somebody else. But I see it as confidence built up from years past and coach believing in me. I missed the shot, but it still feels good that I shot the shot, because I wouldn't have shot the shot last year or the year before that."
The Judges' immediately fouled Beau Everett after he caught the inbounds pass. He missed both free throws, and Gardner grabbed the rebound of Everett's miss and ran up the court. Gardner's initial shot from mid court was blocked. Curry grabbed the deflection and shot the ball from deep, only to see the ball bounce off the front of the rim. This came after his shot beyond half court at the end of regulation bounced off the back of the iron.
If not for turnovers, the Judges might not have needed long-range accuracy at the end. Handley made 14 of them from the start of the second quarter until the end of game, and made some costly ones in overtime.
With the Judges up 46-44, Long had the ball stolen from him near mid court, leading to Curry fouling Weeren as he attempted a layup on a breakaway. Weeren made both free throws to tie the game at 46-46. After Everett's layup with 1:12 left gave Riverside a 48-47 lead, Curry had the ball stolen from him. D'Andre James (nine points) then fouled Weeren for his fifth foul with 51 seconds left, and Weeren hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 49-47 Rams.
Riverside mostly played man defense in the second half after mainly using a zone in the first half. Starting in the second half — which saw the Judges leading 24-17 at the start — Toton felt the Judges' struggled with their approach against Riverside at times, and some of their mistakes in overtime were examples of that.
"In the second half, they were up on us, and I thought we were trying to do too much with the ball instead of trying to keep it simple and get around our man," Toton said. "We were trying to go in between our legs and behind our back, trying to do one too many things."
Curry said the intensity that Riverside played with on defense in the second half wasn't something the Judges were accustomed to.
"We're not used to seeing teams come up and actually put pressure on us," Curry said. "Most teams usually back off against us and play 2-3 [zone]. They had a good [zone], but I think what really hurt us is when they pressed and pushed up on us."
Riverside coach Mike Koscinski said his team wanted to mix up its defensive looks. It played more zone than it wanted to in the first half because of foul trouble, but ultimately he wanted to apply pressure to Handley because of its reliance on its starters. No one on the Judges' bench averages more than eight minutes per game.
"We were hoping to put pressure on them and wear them down," Koscinski said. "We were hoping to kind of speed them up."
Toton said he felt the Judges also struggled to get back in transition at times against Riverside, which hit 12 of 30 shots from the start of the second quarter until the end of the game (Handley led 12-7 after one quarter).
Koscinski said his team felt a little deflated at the start of halftime after Handley ended the first half on a 11-2 run, a stretch that saw Judges convert blocks on defense into points on offense twice. Curry had two blocks on one possession.
But but by the time halftime was over they were refocused and ready to go, and Koscinski was impressed with the effort that launched the comeback.
"We have that no-quit attitude in us," Koscinski said. "This is a great team win for us."
Though the Judges might not have made all the plays it needed to make, the effort was certainly there.
In regulation, Curry had two huge layups in the final three minutes of regulation after making long drives to the basket for 42-40 and 44-41 Handley leads. (Brett Asbury's traditional three-point play following a putback with 54 seconds left for Riverside provided the final points in regulation and tied the game at 44-44.) And after slipping and turning the ball with 14 seconds left, Curry then stole the ball from Asbury before he could attempt his final shot.
Despite making some big plays later, Curry couldn't help but be disappointed in himself.
"I turned the ball over a couple of times, and I feel like I didn't play the best defense either," Curry said. "That hurt. It's my last game, and turning the ball over as many times as I did, I think this is my worst game handling the ball. It definitely hurts to see that."
It hurt everyone on Handley to see the season come to such an early end. Still, it was a pretty good year if you consider that Handley lost three starters who are currently either playing college basketball or football from last year's state finalist team.
The Judges were Northwestern District regular season champions for the fourth straight year, and they won their third straight district or conference tournament title this season.
"A lot of people doubted us before the season," Curry said. "That was a big step for us, winning district this year. I see them doing big things next year, too, so that's good for these guys coming back to win a district championship this year. Hopefully they can win regionals next year and go for a state championship. That's the goal every year."
Handley will lose four-year varsity members Curry and James and three-year members Wise and Long — all starters — from this year's team. The Judges — whose bench includes seniors Jack Pollak, Jadie Lawrence and Troy Thompson — have posted a record of 86-18 over the last four seasons.
"All those kids, those seniors especially, they have nothing to be ashamed of," Toton said. "Their varsity record is pretty phenomenal. Winning over 20 games the last three years [and losing a total of 10], they've done a really good job. They've set the bar high for next year's team.
"I think coming into the season, everybody thought we'd be long shots [to achieve the success of last year]. I give credit to the players for buying in, coming in every day, working hard and trying to prove people wrong. It just didn't work out for us tonight."
Riverside clinched a state tournament berth with Tuesday's win and will play at Loudoun Valley, a 49-46 winner over Kettle Run in Tuesday's other semifinal. The Rams were led in scoring by Asbury (12 points) and Everett (11) on Tuesday. This year's region and state berths are firsts for Riverside in its four-year history.
