Hayfield’s Wings Clipped in OT, fall to Woodson in Quarterfinals

      The Hawks story book season came to a sudden halt yesterday, when they came up short vs. WT Woodson, in overtime, 69-62. Hayfield had won 15 straight games, several by 6 points or less, so the Hawks had proven they could pull out the tough ones. Yesterday, they almost did it again. Trailing by eleven points early in the 3^rd quarter, Hayfield collectively took a deep breath, steadied themselves, and rallied, going on a 17-8 run to get back into the game. Hayfield led by one after three quarters, and by as many as 6 during the 4^th, but Woodson’s experience, and their dynamic point guard, brought them back to 60 all, with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

    Woodson had possession with 30 seconds left, after a controversial 5 second call vs. Hayfield. Bowles, Woodson HS’s outstanding point guard had the ball, and was driving left towards the basket. Three Hawks blocked his path, whom he plowed into. Again, a controversial play, but this time it was a “no call”. Outcome: Overtime! Unfortunately for Hayfield, the extra effort put forth in the final 16 minutes of regulation, left them short on energy, and luck. Woodson outscored Hayfield 9-2 in extra time, ending Hayfield’s win streak, and its hopes to win the Northern Regional Tournament.

   After a sluggish first half, the Hawks finally took flight in the 3^rd quarter, outscoring Woodson by 8 (22-14). Down by 11 at the 7 minute mark of the third, PG Daquan Poindexter (5pts, 8rebs, 5asts, 3stls) took matters into his own hands. Coming down the left alley, Poindexter pulled up for a much needed 3 ball, which swished through the net, trimming the Woodson lead to 8. Hayfield then exploded for another 19 points during the pivotal 3^rd quarter. Poindexter seemed to be everywhere, whether trying to slow down Bowles, or crashing the defensive glass (7 defensive rebounds), or scrambling all over the court, as the Cavaliers chased him in vain. He was joined in the comeback effort, by Hayfield’s star center, Eliet Donley (23pts, 17rebs, 3blks, 2asts), who had a monster second half (17 points after halftime). Donley re-asserted his presence on defense, setting the team high of 13 defensive rebounds and rejecting 3 shots.

    Sr. SF Muharrim Haque (10pts, 12rebs, 4asts) turned in his second excellent game this weekend. On Friday, Haque’s hot shooting helped propel the Hawks into the quarter finals. Yesterday, it was his commitment to go after every rebound that helped Hayfield stay in the game. Though only 6’1”, Haque led Hayfield this season with 70 offensive rebounds (2.6/game), eight of them grabbed or tipped yesterday afternoon.  Another star for the Hawks yesterday and over the course of the season was SG Tyler Hodge (10pts, 5rebs, 4asts). Hodge helped lead the comeback, doing what he does best, utilizing his outstanding physical skills to soar above the Cavaliers, whether on the defensive glass, or slicing through the key for jaw dropping lay-ups. Hodge emerged this season as a three point threat as well, finishing 21-62 (34%), second on the team to Haque (35% from downtown).

   Yesterday’s game was the end of 8 high school basketball careers. Fittingly, only the 8 seniors played vs. WT Woodson, including Sr. reserve PF Jeremy Jones (2pts, 1reb, 2blks) who came off the bench, and quickly received an alley-oop pass from Poindexter, for an easy score. Jones has progressed immensely over the season, finishing second on the team in block shots (31, 1.1/game) Starting Sr. PF Dalon Thomas (9pts, 4rebs, 1ast) had one of his better scoring games of recent past, shooting 75% from the floor, and 100% from the line. Thomas, mostly known for his ability to draw charges (34 on the season), was very effective down low offensively, scoring his three buckets inside 3 feet. Sr. SF Kelsey McCrimmon came on strong during the final two weeks of the season. McCrimmon, over the last 5 games increased his points per game by 37% (8.9 to 12.2/game), including scoring a season high of 19 vs. Yorktown in the conference tourney, and made the all-tourney team averaging 15pts and 7rebs per game.

Pts. Scored By: Poindexter (5), Phox (0), McCrimmon (3), Hodge (10), Jones (2), Oakley (dnp), Donley (23), Haque (10), Douglas (dnp), Thomas (9), Cobbs (dnp), Jeter (dnp), McGhee (dnp), Wheeler (dnp), Wilkerson (dnp)