Sherwood shreds JV boys' basketball

JAN. 6, NELSON H. KOBREN MEMORIAL GYMNASIUM -

As the JV boy's basketball team sulked off the court on Friday night, guard Quentin Snively snuck one last peek at the scoreboard. What Snively saw made him shake his head. The Blazers fell to the Sherwood Warriors, 55-44, in a game marred by Blair's sloppy play and cold shooting, dropping their record to 4-3.

Snively blamed the loss on the lack of hustle shown by him and his fellow teammates. "[Sherwood] outran us. We just started acting lazy. We thought we had the game won," he said.

The Blazers missed their first eight shots of the game, including several open looks from the perimeter. "We got started slow, but when that happens we can always pick it up," said Blair coach Emanuel Charles. Late in the first quarter, the Blazers did pick up their play, sparked by back-to-back buckets from Snively with less than two minutes to play. At the end of the first quarter, the Blazers led, 13-12, despite looking unorganized on offense.

In the second quarter, Sherwood went to their pressure defense, forcing Blair to lose their cool and commit numerous turnovers. The ill-advised play from the Blazers left them with just four points in the period with two and a half minutes to go. Charles pointed to the Blazers' lack of experience in handling the press. "They were much more poised than we were," he said. But freshman guard Wayne Henderson hit a deep three-pointer with less than two minutes to play, and heading into halftime, the Blazers led 22-21.

Sherwood opened the second half on an 11-0 run, giving them a ten-point lead—one they wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the game. "When you find yourself in a hole, it's tough to fight your way back," said Charles. The Blazers scored just one field goal in the third quarter, a step-back three from Henderson, and had a stretch of seven straight possessions that resulted in no points, including four straight turnovers coming out of a timeout.

Blair looked lost on offense in the quarter, and several Blazers could be seen standing still on the perimeter, watching one player go one-on-one. "We weren't setting good screens. They read our offense perfectly," commented Snively, who scored the only other point for the Blazers in the quarter on a free throw. Charles agreed with Snively, saying, "We couldn't execute the offense. The guys don't set correct screens." The Warriors outscored the Blazers 18-4 in the period, exposing Blair's lackadaisical defense. At the conclusion of the third quarter, Sherwood led 39-26.

Blair started the fourth quarter with energy, using their pressure defense to rattle the Warriors. With five minutes to play, sophomore Milton Colquehon sparked the Blazers on offense. On one particular possession, Colquehon looked inside to sophomore Howard Robinson. But Robinson wasn't looking, and the ball was batted back to the three-point line, where Colquehon grabbed it and soared through the lane for two points.

Colquehon and sophomore Rex Jarrett provided a combined nine points in the quarter, playing with the enthusiasm Charles was looking for in his lackluster team. The Blazers cut Sherwood's lead to as little as seven on an amazing five points in five seconds by Snively. But the Blazers' individual efforts fell short, as Sherwood knocked down clutch free throws with fewer than three minutes to play, securing the 55-44 victory.

Henderson and Colquehon each added six points and Jarrett contributed five points in the loss, the Blazers' third on the year. Snively led the Blazers in scoring in the contest, finishing with 16 points. But despite his stellar play, Snively was quick to downplay his personal performance. "There's no point to me getting those points if my team doesn't win," he said.

JV boys' basketball's next game is at 5:15 p.m. at Magruder Jan. 9.