Hawks Championship Just Out of Reach

     Hayfield’s Boys Varsity Basketball team had come all the way back from 12 down in the second half, to take a 1 point lead with 10 seconds to go, in the Liberty Conference Championship. The Hawks had shown their mettle, by not succumbing to South Lakes barrage from downtown (they converted 5 three pointers on the evening), and by raising their intensity level, to rattle the Seahawks down the stretch. Everything seemed to be in the Hawks favor. Unfortunately, the Seahawks had just enough time for some heroics of their own. They calmly inbounded the ball, drove the length of the court in just over 5 seconds, and converted a tough contested layup, resulting in a foul on the Hawks. The Hawks luck seemed to hold though, for the Seahawks player missed the “and one”. Hayfield called timeout.

     Hayfield had 3.6 seconds to get a score. Dalon Thomas threw a great ½ court pass to a leaping Montez Wilson (6pts, 8rebs, 1blk), who snared it, and looked for the trailing Amir Atkins (11pts, 6rebs, 1blk) who sped to the front court. Unfortunately Atkins was just crossing the line, when he received the pass, and it was ruled a backcourt violation. With 1.9 seconds remaining, all seemed lost. Coach Poindexter put in his 5 quickest defenders, to deny the inbounds, and perhaps get a steal. He got one better, a pass which touched no one, before going out of bounds.

     Hayfield had another chance. Taking the ball in from mid court, the inbounds pass was tipped as it soared to Eliet Donley (25pts, 9rebs, 1blk). He gathered it in, turned towards the hoop, and released the jump shot. As the crowd held its breath, whether from exultation or despair, the ball arced towards the hoop. Unfortunately, it fell just out of reach for the Hayfield Hawks.

     Notable Contributions included: Tyler Thornton (2pts, 4asts, 1stl, 2dflcts) and Daquan Poindexter (3pts, 2asts, 2stls, 4dflcts) played outstanding press defense down the stretch in the 4^th quarter, resulting in many deflections, and steals by the Hawks. Tyler Hodge (7pts, 3rebs, 1stl) provided instant offense in the fourth, and helped lead the Hawks back in the second half. Phil Guydon (3pts, 1reb, 1stl) played spirited defense, and was just getting going before being slowed by a wrist injury, sustained while driving in for a layup, defended by two Seahawks. Faris Gebril (2pts) provided a much needed basket in the second quarter, when it seemed the Seahawks were about to break the game open. Kelsey McCrimmon came off the bench to provide a spark on defense, chipping in with a key offensive rebound, and deflecting a pass. Donley shot   15-16 from the line in the game, and easily had the best performance of the game for either squad.

     The Hawks return home on Monday, 2/24/14 to begin the Northern Regionals. They will tip off against their  cross town rivals; the Stallions of South County HS. Game time 7pm.