Shortly after that, though, he lost his dribble near midcourt, and it turned into a three-point play when he fouled while trying to stop a breakaway layup.
“I got lazy with the ball,” he said. “I got too ahead of myself and let them steal it. I should’ve just taken it to the rim.”
Though he’d love to have a do-over on that sequence, he’s actually had very few negative plays this season. And, in a lot ways, he’s atypical for a first-year player.
Asked what he brings to the team, the Fairfield High School product said, “My energy and my defense.”
Coach Scott Nagy has been hounding his players this season to value defense over offense, and since the Raiders are just 10-10, he’d readily admit he’s had mixed results.
But the 6-foot-4 Woods hasn’t needed any prodding.
“I’ve always liked the challenge of guarding the best players. I’ve been like that since my junior year in high school. I try to use my length a lot, and I have great lateral movement,” he said.
He’s going against two of the best perimeter players in the Horizon League in Trey Calvin and Tanner Holden in practice, and he relishes those matchups.
Asked if he could handle them for a full game, he smiled and said, “They would say no, but I believe I could.”
He added: “They’re pushing me a lot.”
Woods played sparingly for a couple of weeks over the holidays after suffering an ankle injury, but he’s still averaging 10.4 minutes per game, which is eighth on the team.
And though he’s scored only 25 total points, he had eight in just 12 minutes at Youngstown State on Jan. 12.
“He’s probably one of our more scrappy defenders,” Nagy said.
“He’s shooting the ball pretty good. He’s getting in the gym, and he’s working at it. He’s earned our confidence for sure.”
Woods has been a dependable ball-handler overall with 14 assists and just seven turnovers.
“He comes in and brings energy. He’s not afraid of the moment. The Youngstown game, I think, gave him a lot of confidence. He played really well, scored and defended,” Holden said.
“They’re going to keep getting better,” Holden added of the freshmen trio of Woods, Drey Carter and Kaden Brown. “I think everyone on that bench has gotten better since the beginning of the season.”
Carter has never been a big scorer, averaging 14 points as a senior. But he led Fairfield to a 19-5 record and a spot in the Division I regional finals.
He was a sought-after recruit mostly because 6-4 guards are hard to find.
“It feels amazing to be out there and being able to contribute to our team, I’m getting more confidence each game I play,” he said.
“I feel we’re all very close — especially since the Italy trip,” he added, referring to the team’s 10-day summer excursion. “That allowed us get to know each other more.
“We all believe in each other. We never get down on ourselves. We’re always fighting. We just want to keep working to get better.”
2,000 watch: Calvin is a virtual lock to get to 2,000 career points, while Holden has a little more work but likely will get there.
Calvin has 1,897 points in 141 games, and Holden has 1,823 in 112 games.
DaShaun Wood (2003-07), who’s third on the career scoring list, had 1,849 points in 119 games.
All-time leader Bill Edwards (1989-93) had 2,303 in 114 games.
THURSDAY’S GAME
Wright State at Cleveland State, 7 p.m., ESPN+, 101.5, 1410
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