Winbush's Three-Pointer Lifts Hayfield

As the magnitude of his game-winning three-pointer in yesterday's 60-57 Virginia AAA Northern Region semifinal victory over Mount Vernon started to sink in, Hayfield junior Brandon Winbush could barely stand still in the hallway outside the locker room at Robinson.

His feet shuffling, hands clapping, knees high-stepping, Winbush alternated joyful screams between quick breaths, panting and head-scratching smiles as he tried to explain the final moments of a thriller that brought many of the 1,400 fans to their feet.

"I'm supposed to be the best shooter on the team," said Winbush, a 5-foot-11 junior guard who missed two free throws with 1 minute 33 seconds left that could have clinched the victory. "That was a lot of pressure. I choked on those, and I'll admit that, but I just had to make up for it."

Winbush did that by sinking two free throws with 33 seconds left and then hit a game-clinching three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left to give Hayfield a berth in tomorrow's region championship and its first state tournament berth since 2005.

"Every time Brandon shoots, you always know it's going in," said Laurent Newsome, a 6-6 senior who scored eight of his 12 points as part of a 24-17 fourth-quarter run that helped the Hawks rebound from a four-point deficit.

Winbush, who scored five of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, hit three times from behind the three-point arc, while Newsome added 12 rebounds and four blocked shots to halt No. 14 Mount Vernon's win streak at 19.

It was the second time this season Hayfield (21-6) beat Mount Vernon (21-5), which was the top seed and National District regular season and tournament champion.

Newsome was also part of a defense that helped keep both of Mount Vernon's post players in foul trouble, with Majors senior Kyle Ricks (11 points) fouling out and junior forward Skylar Jones (15 points) sitting on the bench with four fouls for most of the fourth quarter.

Winbush's shot pushed Hayfield into its first regional final since 2005, ending the five-time region champion's short decline -- a period that started in 2007 when 6-9 senior forward Mike Davis (Illinois) transferred to T.C. Williams and lifted the Titans to a region title, while Hayfield struggled to a 7-15 seventh-place Patriot District finish.

"That was a big blow," said senior guard Rayshawn Rigans, who took two of his four steals for breakaway baskets that put Hayfield up by five in the fourth. "As a team, we just had to stick together and work together to get it done."

Hayfield 60, Mount Vernon 57 Big Numbers: Hayfield Coach Ronald Palmer, who went 609-150 en route to 19 district titles, 8 region titles, 1 state and 1 national crown in 25 years at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California, has a 35-14 record in two seasons at Hayfield. Up Next: Hayfield will play No. 4 T.C. Williams (25-2) in tomorrow's 8 p.m. final. The Titans, who beat Lee, 79-61, in last night's other semifinal, have won 71 straight against conference opponents since 2005. The Titans are also 89-3 against the Northern Region during that stretch.