Rustburg relies on Wood, battles past Bees in Division 3 boys clash

BEDFORD — Taking Rustburg senior Marshall Wood out of his game is a tricky proposition.

The Virginia Tech recruit showcased his broad skill set in Wednesday night’s Seminole District Division 3 final at Liberty, scoring in just about every way imaginable in a 54-42 victory over Brookville.

"We tried to move him around a little bit," Red Devils coach Brantley Shields said. "They were face-guarding him and helping him. They did a really good job on him, so we tried to screen for him a little bit and move him around, inside and outside, and he did a good job making some shots."

Wood, who matched his season average with a game-high 24 points, opened the scoring by driving from the left wing toward the left baseline and hitting a 15-foot banker. He later tipped in a pull-up jumper in the lane by point guard Marcus Patrick (14 points) before opening the second quarter by swishing a 3-pointer from the left wing.

"He’s just a big body and he can shoot from the outside so that’s hard to stop in just about any sport," said Brookville forward Matt Blanks, who paced the Bees with 11 points, tying Ben Hogg for team-high totals.

After Patrick drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, Wood grabbed a defensive rebound, started a fast break and sank both of his free throws after being fouled on a near miss, extending Rustburg’s lead to 21-12. Wood shot 9 for 10 from the line for the game.

His final field goal of the night all but put the game out of reach as he finished fast-break passes from Brandon Forslund to Kareem Royster with a thunderous two-handed dunk.

"Once I kind of got in rhythm, it made my game more versatile and I just came out a little more," Wood said. "We were definitely working on getting the ball to the post in practices and over the last couple games and that’s been working out pretty well, so that was our main focus tonight."

Moments later, Cameron Long hit a hanging banker in the left side of the lane and Patrick answered a 3-pointer by Brookville’s Jamal Payne with a 3 of his own to make it 42-32. Rustburg’s lead never slipped to under 10 points the rest of the way.

"We banged them a little bit and it worked for a little while," Blanks said. "We stayed in it all game, but we missed a couple shots down the stretch and that kind of hurt us. They knocked down more shots than we did and that’s how you win."

"They’re a very hard-working team and they play really hard," Wood added. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight tonight."

"They played really well, had a great game plan and I thought Marshall and Marcus made some big plays down the stretch," Shields added.

Since back-to-back losses to Heritage and Brookville mid-season, Rustburg has won seven of its past eight games heading into Friday’s district championship game against Amherst.

"Our first goal is to win the district championship game," Shields said, noting the Red Devils locked up at least a No. 4 seed heading into next week’s Region III, Division 3, tournament. "I don’t remember the last time Rustburg won a district championship. That’s our first goal. Then, we’ll get ready for Monday."

"We’re just trying to work hard and play hard every game because every game is very important now," Wood added. "We’re just trying to go as hard as we can because it’s do or die right now."