Hawks Overwhelm Highlanders for 7^th Straight Victory

      Hayfield, playing less than 24 hours after defeating Langley, put together another outstanding effort, to push their win streak to 7, and move 2 games over .500 for the first time this season. The Hawks defensive pressure disrupted the Highlanders efforts to gain any momentum, as they amassed 14 steals, 6 block shots, and 42 deflections yesterday afternoon. Offensively, Hayfield took advantage of McLean’s lack of interior defense, as C Eliet Donley (32pts, 8rebs, 2blks) catapulted himself and his team (83 pts) to season highs in scoring. Donley set a new personal milestone, scoring over 30 points for the first as a Hawk (eclipsing his previous high of 25, set in the Liberty Conference final last season).

     The Hawks employed a steady diet of traps and full court man to man defenses to disrupt McLean’s flow, which led to many easy baskets for Hayfield. PG’s Daquan Poindexter (10pts, 5asts, 4stls) and Kyle Phox (6pts, 3asts, 4stls) were the main catalysts, amassing 8 steals together. In the second half, McLean brought out the box and one, to slow down Donley, which worked at first. Hayfield is not a one man show though, so the Hawks sought out other sources to score. SF Muharrim Haque (7pts, 5rebs, 2asts, 2stls) stepped into that void, and had a strong third quarter. SF Kelsey McCrimmon (9pts, 2asts, 1stl) came off the bench to provide help from long range, swishing 2 of the Hawks 5 second half threes (Hayfield 0/8 in 1^st half, 5/8 in 2^nd half). PF Jeremy Jones (7pts, 2blks, 1stl) had another solid game, hitting a three, and getting 2 blocks. All of these efforts combined to create the Hawks most lopsided win of the season.

    One of Hayfield’s struggles this season has been from the free throw line, where the Hawks connect at only 62% of the time. SG Tyler Hodge (8pts, 2rebs, 5asts) helped erase that percentage at least for one day, as he was a perfect 6 for 6 from the charity stripe, Donley, Haque, Mccrimmon, and PF Dalon Thomas (4pts, 7rebs, 5asts) also chipped in shooting a combined 12 for 16 (one miss apiece), as Hayfield achieved a season high of 82% from the line.

    Other contributions included: PG Will Douglas came on late, and grabbed a season high 3 rebounds. SG Romaine Oakley played solid on the ball defense, and getting his hands on 2 passes (2 dflctns). PF/C Corey McGhee was an instant present on defense in the 4^th quarter, swatting away two would be Highlander buckets. SG Brian Cobbs (2asts, 2rebs) continued to show his development with 2 excellent dishes to Phox in the games closing minutes.

Pts. Scored By: Poindexter (10), Phox (6), McCrimmon (9), Hodge (8), Jones (7), Oakley (0), Donley (32), Haque (7), Douglas (0), Thomas (4), Cobbs (0), Jeter (IR), McGhee (0),