By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Khalid Thomas scored 12 points and Joe Foley added 11, spearheading a balanced Woodberry Forest offense that blew out Tandem Friends 77-40 on the road.
Clark Yarbrough and Luke Neeley also had 10 points apiece for the Tigers, who saw 12 of their players reach the scoring column on the evening. After a first quarter that saw Tandem hold its own against the deeper, more athletic Woodberry squad, Tigers head coach Craig Dawson employed a full-court press in an attempt to speed the game up and pull away.
It worked. After leading only 18-11 after one period, Woodberry’s press began to work its magic against the undermanned Badgers, who dressed just eight players for the game. The Tigers generated a flurry of backcourt steals, leading to fast-break opportunities which widened the lead and eventually turned the game into a rout by halftime. Woodberry led 41-19 at the break.
“I thought my guys played with a lot more energy after going to the press,” Dawson said. “We really wante to work on our man-to-man defense today, because we know we’re not gonna be able to press everyone, but we had to throw the press in today to get some momentum going.”
The Tigers’ lead ballooned to as many as 29 at the end of the third quarter before Dawson emptied his bench in the late stages of the game.
Scottie Chambers led Tandem with 17 points, making him the only Badger to score in double figures. Ian Bloom added seven for the Badgers.
Woodberry shot just 4-for-13 from three-point range and 3-for-4 from the line, but had such a size and depth advantage that it hardly mattered. Meanwhile the Tigers forced 13 Tandem turnovers and limited the Badgers to 1-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
“This is the most cohesive group I’ve had since I’ve coached at Woodberry,” Dawson said. “They love to cheer one another on. Everyone on this team wants their teammates to get in the game, so that fact that we had 12 guys on the scoreboard tonight means we’re really sharing the ball.”
Woodberry will meet Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School, out of South Carolina, on Friday in the Life & Breath Tournament. Tandem will travel to Wakefield on Thursday.
