Hayfield Tunes up for Playoffs with Win over Lowly Stuart

Jeb Stuart and Hayfield entered their final regular season game in a dark place, with a combined winning percentage of just 12 percent on the season (5-36). But the contest meant more to both teams than their records might indicate. For Stuart, it was senior night, and a final chance to salvage some pride after winning one of its first 20 games. And for Hayfield, it was an opportunity to go into the playoffs with some momentum after a tough loss to Mount Vernon at home on Monday night.

The matchup against Stuart should have been an attractive one for Hayfield, but the Hawks found themselves in a two point dogfight at the half, and needed a second half surge to power past the Raiders 48-33, to lift their record to 5-17 overall, and 4-10 in the National District.

“They played with more enthusiasm and worked a little harder in the second half,” said Hayfield coach Ron Palmer. “We’re capable of playing well and tonight we got good guard play. If you get good guard play, you’ve always got a chance. I’m pleased because we haven’t had many nights like this.”

Early on, it looked like the Hawks were determined to blow Stuart out of its gym, racing out to a quick 16-6 advantage before many of the Stuart fans had a chance to settle in their seats. But Sam Lebryk, a lanky sophomore guard for the Raiders, quickly hit three second quarter 3-pointers to cut the lead to 22-20 at the half.

In the second half, Hayfield came out firing on all cylinders, using a full-court press to force countless turnovers, which led to easy layups. Junior forward Nate McShay, who finished with 16 points after hitting for 19 in a losing effort on Monday night, was seemingly alone under the basket on nearly every possession in the second half.

“Nate McShay, he’s an outstanding prospect, we think he’s good to be very, very good,” Palmer said. “This is his first year of varsity, he played JV last year and he’s rounding into our leading scorer. He’s very good on the offensive boards and he has a nice shot.”

Hayfield’s tenacious defense made life miserable for a team that’s had more than its share of hardships in a 1-20 season. The Raiders scored just 13 second-half points, and had far more turnovers than field goals. In the end, it was a merciful ending to a dismal regular season for Stuart.

After the game, Hayfield was already champing at the bit to get another shot at Mount Vernon, their likely first round opponent in the playoffs, which start on Monday.

“It’s only Stuart, so you can’t really be too happy. They’re the worst team in the league,” said McShay after the game. “We’ve beaten Mount Vernon before, we can beat them again. We’re going to win. I’m sure about that.”

But McShay’s teammate, Garrick Short (7 points) was more guarded in his comments about both Stuart and Mount Vernon. “We didn’t take Stuart lightly, we just started off slow,” he said. “Mount Vernon will be tough. We’ll have to be ready for them, but we will be.”

Palmer was far more candid in assessing his team’s chances in the playoffs. “We’d love to play Mount Vernon, they suit our style,” he said. “We match up well with them, if we can hit the boards hard, we’ll be competitive with them. We’ll be competitive with anyone we play. We’re ready. We have to be.”