Wolverines Rally To Reach Regionals

For three quarters, it appeared that the dream season with visions of a state title was about to end in bitter disappointment for the Woodside Wolverines.

In the third period, Granby pushed its lead up to 10 points after connecting on 4-of-5 three-pointers. Woodside used a 7-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter to tie the game, but the Comets seemed to re-gain control with a 55-52 lead with just under four minutes to play when the Wolverines came through with the final burst.

A 14-3 burst over the final 3:38 put Woodside over the top and punched their ticket to the 6A-South Region Tournament, eliminating Granby 66-58 in Wednesday night's Monitor-Merrimac Conference Tournament semifinals held at Chesapeake's Grassfield High School.

"A lot of juniors, sophomores and freshmen might have it in their minds that they have another year or two. But for us seniors, the next step is college. You start to look back on the memories of High School Basketball and it's do-or-die," stated Woodside senior wing Jordan Forbes afterwards.

"There was a lot of hype going into the season for us. Our practice on [Tuesday] was probably the most fun and energized we've had. Everyone was up, yelling and ready to go, focused on this game."

To say that Woodside - ranked #2 in the preseason in the state at the Group 6A level - has dealt with its fair share of adversity would be an understatement. Key players have been suspended at various points throughout the season and point guard Devante Carter missed a substantial amount of time due to injury.

Potentially complicating matters more, first-year Head Coach Ed Huckaby has been absent from the sidelines each of the past two games and there is no timetable for when/if he will return.

In Huckaby's place, J.V. Head Coach Steve Jecewiz made his varsity playoff coaching debut. Jecewiz followed Huckaby from Fishburne Military Academy to Woodside, though probably didn't imagine when the 2015-16 campaign that he would be thrown into the fire in this fashion.

"I just got the word early yesterday that I would be coaching today," Jecewiz told VirginiaPreps.com. "As a coaching staff, we were ready to slide in and had one of our best practices of the year. Over the course of that game, it demonstrated just how much these guys loving playing together."

"As a team, player or coach, the train is not going to stop. Regardless, in the playoffs, you're 0-0," Forbes pointed out.

"Tomorrow, it's a new day. We've got to move on and get ready for the next one."

Collectively, Woodside came together and got it done. All five starters - Forbes, Carter, Chris Orlina, TahJay Jacobs and Juwan Davis - scored in double-figures.

Orlina filled the stat sheet with 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals, turning up his level of play down the stretch when his team needed him most. Both Orlina and Forbes - who also posted a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds - enabled the Wolverines to assert their dominance in the painted area.

"Jordan Forbes has probably been our most consistent guy all year. He might not have as many highlight reel plays or be the focus of every team's scouting report, but everything runs so smoothly with him," Jecewiz said.

"He does it all - rebounds, handles it, shoots it and is a great decision maker."

On the glass, Woodside out-rebounded by a decisive margin of Granby 38-21. That included 10-3 in the fourth quarter when the Comets went 3-of-11 from the field.

"I think the defense sparked us, but at the same time, when we were taking time-outs we kept talking about how we needed to stop settling for jumpers," Forbes noted. "We're a long team, can get to the basket and finish. Make them guard us in the paint. There's no need to take a million 3's."

Woodside attempted only two three-point shots in the second half, making one. That conversion was a big one courtesy of backup guard Quincy Freeman.

Freeman's three-pointer with 7:04 to play in regulation knotted the score at 50-apiece. He also made a pair of free-throws with 46.1 seconds remaining to extend their advantage to 60-55, pivotal because that made it a two-possession game.

"We locked in defensively. Quincy didn't play in the first half and he brought energy. His heart is there and he really sparked that group," remarked Jecewiz.

So what was different about this meeting and when Granby beat Woodside 70-63 on February 5th? A few things. For one, Orlina didn't play in that game and did in this one. Their defense on Granby freshman Antwan Epps was much better this time as well.

In Granby's win over Woodside, Epps torched the Wolverines for 27 points. He was held to 12 points in the playoff encounter as Jecewiz lauded the defensive play of Jacobs, assigned to the ninth grader much of the contest.

The Woodside defense also created 16 turnovers, overcoming 21 giveaways of their own and generating enough easy baskets for a 15-point swing during the second half.

"We wanted to pressure them and make that our identity. It worked for us last game against Denbigh and wanted to continue that momentum.," Jecewiz added.

Jecewiz will be coaching Woodside in its next game on February 19th when they take on Oscar Smith (20-2) in the Monitor-Merrimac Conference Championship at Grassfield. Regardless of the outcome of that game, he's now 2-0 as the team's interim Head Coach and the first playoff win of his coaching career was a comeback that won't soon be forgotten - by him or the Wolverines' faithful.

"I've been apart of teams that have beaten ranked opponents. But being a Head Coach and having these guys locked in on our every word, play so hard and be energetic, it's special," admitted Jecewiz.

"It's not about me though. It's about those guys in the locker room and I'm so proud of their effort."

Before Woodside opens up regional play on February 23rd against Cox, Kellam or Landstown from Coastal Conference 1, they have revenge on their minds. Oscar Smith defeated them 72-65 on February 2nd in a game that the Wolverines led at half-time. The victor will be the #1 seed out of Conference 2, whereas the loser is the #2 seed with a trip to Kellam awaiting.

"Payback. That's all I want," Forbes said.

Postgame Audio with Woodside's Steve Jecewiz

Woodside Wolverines 66: (15-5 Overall)
Chris Orlina - 19Pts. 5-10FG, 9-10FT, 10Reb. 6Ast. 3Blk. 3Stl.
Jordan Forbes - 12Pts. 6-10FG, 13Reb. 4Ast.
Devante Carter - 10Pts. 5-11FG, 5Reb. 3Stl.
Juwan Davis - 10Pts. 3-8FG, 2-6 3's
TahJay Jacobs - 10Pts. 5-9FG, 6Reb. 3Blk.

Granby Comets 58: (10-10 Overall)
Antwan Epps - 12Pts. 5-10FG, 2-5 3's, 2Ast.
Jermiah Jenkins - 11Pts. 4-10FG, 3-7 3's, 2Ast.
Giovanni Jones - 10Pts. 4-11FG, 12Reb.
Darryon Green - 9Pts. 3-7FG, 2-3FT

Matthew Hatfield serves as State Basketball Analyst for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a staff writer for Tar Heel Illustrated. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10AM on ESPN Radio 94.1, plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.