Like any squad in December, Miller’s boys basketball team is trying to put things together. A bunch of new faces are working their way into the flow, and Tuesday night they picked up a tough win, beating Woodberry Forest 57-44 on the road.
“It’s not easy to win in anything you do,” said Miller coach Danny Manuel. “If you’re not disciplined (against Woodberry) you’re not going to win.”
It didn’t get started that way for the Mavericks though as Woodberry jumped out to a 19-11, holding that advantage midway through the second quarter. The Tigers pressured Miller nicely early on and took the Mavericks out of sync.
“Our matchup zone was really good early I think it kind of threw them off balance,” said Woodberry coach Craig Dawson. “They weren’t really sure what we were doing which is the main reason we’re running it. I thought the guys effort was really, really good.”
A late first half surge, a 16-5 closing run to be exact, put the Mavericks up 27-24 at the break. Matthew Sanchez’s seven second quarter points were a big part of that Miller push while Chance Sheffey went 4-for-4 at the free throw line during that frame.
“I’ve told (Sanchez) his role is to be like Dennis Rodman and then catch and shoot threes,” Manuel said. “He’s been doing that more and I need to find him some more minutes.”
From there the game tilted back and forth, with Miller holding a slight one-to-two possession advantage. The Mavericks led by just four going into the fourth, but started to pull away down the stretch, going 10-for-18 at the free throw line in the fourth to preserve the win.
Sanchez led Miller with 14 points while Sheffey finished with 11 and Tyler Creammer notched 11 points underneath. The VMI-bound Creammer was relentless underneath throughout the game for the Mavericks and flashed a couple of solid jump hooks down the stretch.
“I’m so glad he’s going to VMI, just a great kid and super tough,” Manuel said.
Sophomore point guard Joe Foley had 13 to lead the Tigers, giving Woodberry a steady hand in the backcourt in his second year running the show.
“We are very pleased with his development,” Dawson said. “He’s just going to continue to get better and better.”
Max Johns had nine for Woodberry while Calder Clay had eight.
The Mavericks won’t get much of a chance for a breather as they take on St. Anne’s-Belfield Friday in their home opener at 6:30 p.m. The Tigers will look for their first win Saturday against archrival Episcopal on the road. Woodberry is 0-4 after losing their first three games by a total of nine points in a trio of tough matchups at the Sleepy Thompson Tournament in Alexandria.
