Lots of heroes return this season from Hayfield’s undefeated state champion team last season. But Thursday night in a see-saw affair against formidable Patriot, Hawks fans were introduced to their newest hero–Donovan Bass-Briscoe.
The senior West Potomac transfer scored his team’s final seven points as #2 Hayfield edged out visiting #5 Patriot 75-73 in the season opener for both teams.
First, he tied the score at 71 with a three off a pass from David King with just over two minutes left:
King to the wing, big three from the Hawks. We’re tied at 71 late… pic.twitter.com/shwHrXXO0s
— Novahoops.com (@novahoopsCom) December 2, 2022
Then, after a Patriot score, he tied it again with this drive to the hoop:
Donovan Bass-Briscoe ties it back at 73, 46.3 seconds left!!! pic.twitter.com/qVaScuIwU9
— Novahoops.com (@novahoopsCom) December 2, 2022
Then, after a Hayfield trap forced a turnover, Bass-Briscoe won the game just before time expired, and was mobbed by teammates and fans:
Hayfield celebration begins!! pic.twitter.com/pEvwysLz9U
— Novahoops.com (@novahoopsCom) December 2, 2022
“No matter where I’m at, these guys just gave me the trust to play with them,” said Bass-Briscoe of his new Hawks teammates. “And I really appreciate that. They took time to let me learn their system and make me feel comfortable…so in any circumstance I felt comfortable taking over when things got a little shaky.”
Things got a little shaky for the defending state champions on several occasions. Patriot led after a quarter and in the second quarter by as much as five before a 16-6 Hayfield run forced a Patriot time out. After the Hawks extended the lead to double-digits, the Pioneers battled back to within four by halftime. Later, Patriot was able to consistently get to the rim on offense, and spent a fair amount time in the fourth quarter up two possessions.
The final turning point came when Patriot guards Nasir Coleman and Dezmond Hopkins fouled out with just over two minutes left.
“It’s tough when you go the last two-and-a-half minutes without your starting backcourt,” Patriot coach Sherman Rivers said. “Even with all of that we still had a chance to win the game….they went on a run, we went on a run.”
Bass-Briscoe (17 points , six assists) was certainly the hero on this evening, but of course he had ample help from his talented teammates. King was an absolute wrecking ball down low, finishing with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Greg Jones and Jahleel Jackson had 11 points apiece, and DJ Holloway came up with several key defensive plays.
Patriot unveiled several “new” weapons in its quest to ultimately unseat Hayfield as state champs. Senior Kaden Bates had 16 points, junior Isaiah Vick scored 15, and junior Abe Halim contributed 14 points off the bench. The Pioneers shot almost 60% from the field.
But as well-played as certain aspects of this instant-classic game were, the scary part is both teams have ample room for improvement. Hayfield missed 19 free throws on the night and didn’t have vaunted newcomer John Awoke available. Patriot didn’t get to the line nearly as much as Hayfield and still missed almost half their free throws. The Pioneers also let King abuse them on the offensive glass inside.
“This is why you play these games,” said Rivers, whose team is playing one of the hardest schedules around. “So we can see what it looks like, on the road in a hostile environment.”
“Two very good teams, I said ‘Nobody is going to go away. It’s going to come down to the end,’ and it did.”
On this night between two teams that aspire to play in Richmond in March, the end was Bass-Briscoe’s moment to shine.
“All these guys are beasts,” Bass-Briscoe said of his team and the final play. “But [at the end] I saw the opening on the drive and got cut off…but, second chance points are where it all matters. He tipped the ball, I got the ball and I saw a nice-looking floater.”
“That’s my shot, that’s my money, so I took it and it fell for me.”
And a new Hawks hero was born.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| HAYFIELD | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| JACKSON | 4-7 | 1-2 | 11 | 4 | 0 | |
| HOLLOWAY | 1-5 | 3-8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | |
| BASS BRISCOE | 6-9 | 4-6 | 17 | 3 | 6 | |
| JONES | 3-8 | 3-3 | 11 | 6 | 2 | |
| KING | 10-15 | 6-16 | 26 | 16 | 2 | |
| Ramirez Novas | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| B.Cage | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Card | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pottenburgh | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| P.Cage | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 26-51 | 18-37 | 75 | 34 | 13 | |
| Threes: Jackson 2-3, Jones 2-4, Bass-Briscoe 1-2, Card 0-2, P. Cage 0-1, B.Cage 0-1, Ramirez-Novas 0-1 | ||||||
| PATRIOT | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| BATES | 7-8 | 1-1 | 16 | 5 | 2 | |
| COLEMAN | 5-13 | 1-3 | 11 | 2 | 6 | |
| HOPKINS | 5-7 | 0-0 | 11 | 3 | 0 | |
| PAGE | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| VICK | 6-7 | 3-6 | 15 | 1 | 1 | |
| Randall | 2-3 | 0-2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | |
| Halim | 5-12 | 3-3 | 14 | 4 | 2 | |
| Dillard | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Wilcox | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Keenan | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 31-52 | 8-15 | 73 | 22 | 14 | |
| Threes: Bates 1-2, Hopkins 1-2, Halim 1-5, Page 0-1, Coleman 0-3 | ||||||