Hayfield Continues to Rise, Streak at 4 Games

     The Boys Varsity of Hayfield Secondary has begun to take flight, as they won their 4^th game in a row, defeating their Liberty Conference foe; Madison HS. Last season, the Hawks suffered one loss in the Liberty Conference, 1 one point OT game to Madison. The Hawks looked to avenge that loss tonight, and with it their 4^th victory in a row (and 6^th win out of last 9). Hayfield appeared to have a large height advantage, as Madison was without any player above 6’2”. Madison however is quite proficient from downtown, hitting 2 in the first quarter, powering them to a 2 point advantage at the end of 8 minutes.

     The Hawks made a defensive change at the end of the 1^st quarter, when PG Kyle Phox (6pts, 4asts, 2stls) entered the game. Phox took over covering the Madison point guard, who sank 4 of Madison’s 6 three pointers on the night, but only one while Phox was covering him, due to the Hawks point guard quick feet, and long reach. Hayfield began to exploit Madison’s short front court, with C Eliet Donley (22pts, 8rebs, 3asts, 3blks) scoring 7 of Hayfield’s 20 second quarter points. Donley again made his presence felt in the pivotal fourth quarter, adding 11 of the Hawks final 21 points. Hayfield took a 5 point lead at the half.

    Hayfield almost put Madison away in the third, racing out to a 49-36 lead, halfway through the quarter, powered by PF/C Jeremy Jones (16pts, 7rebs, 2blks), who routinely drove the lane, finishing with 7 of the Hawks 16 third quarter points. Madison however, was not to be outdone, quickly responding with a 9-0 run, over the next 2.5 minutes, to cut the lead to 4.

    Hayfield went back to basics in the 4^th, concentrating on running a sound offense, and playing smothering defense. Madison was unable to respond, as the Hawks perimeter players continued to find Donley on the block for easy buckets. Hayfield saved the best for last scoring a game high 21 points to close out the game.

   Several other Hawks were key contributors in the game, including SF Muharrim Haque (8pts, 2rebs, 1stl), who swished two of Hayfield 4 three pointers. PF Dalon Thomas (8pts, 4rebs, 3asts) came off the bench to lead all reserves in scoring, and provided a calming influence on the Hawks during Madison’s full court press.

SF Kelsey McCrimmon (5pts, 5rebs, 4asts) also came off the pine, to help limit Madison’s go to player (#2 S. Walker) to 3 second half field goals, and to grab 5 rebounds, to lead all Hawks reserves. PG Daquan Poindexter (2pts, 4asts, 2stls) battled foul trouble throughout the first half, but did manage to add to his team high in assists (64 for the season). Freshman SG Brian Cobbs (4pts, 1reb, 1ast) continued to develop his game, playing solid defense in the 2^nd and 4^th quarters, and added to his highlight reel, with a great crossover at midcourt, and finishing with a fade-away runner down the left lane. All 12 active Hawks players saw action tonight, as Hayfield won their 7^th game of the season. Next up, TC Williams comes to the Hawks Nest on Saturday, 1/24/15 at 1:30pm. The Hawks look to get back to .500 for the first time this season, and win their 5^th game in a row.

Pts. Scored By: Poindexter (2), Phox (6), McCrimmon (5), Hodge (1), Jones (16), Oakley (0), Donley (22), Haque (8), Douglas (0), Thomas (8), Cobbs (4), Jeter (IR), McGhee (0), Boys