What a night it was on Tuesday with VHSL Region Basketball Playoff thrillers all across the board.
Huge comebacks were delivered by Alexandria City in 6C, Tuscarora in 4C and Freedom-Woodbridge in 6B as well as by Salem of Virginia Beach to cap a crazy night in Region 5A.
There were also buzzer-beaters and game-winners galore, bringing out the excitement and pageantry that comes with playoff basketball, and of course, what gets folks excited about March Madness that awaits us.
Alexandria City toppled South County 56-54 in the Occoquan Region 6C quarterfinals thanks to a game-winner from Kullen Robinson, who stole an inbounds pass by the Stallions, had his first attempt blocked, but stayed with it to put in the follow at the horn. That moves the 19-5 Titans on to the regional semis to play Thomas Edison with a State Playoff berth at stake. This outcome was particularly amazing when you consider South County led 49-42 with 2:30 to play.
It was looking mighty bleak for Tuscarora. Michael Newkirk’s Huskies were down 11 with over five minutes to play against Sherando and rallied for a 51-48 victory, capped by a game-winning three-pointer at the end from Payton Williams. Junior 6’1” guard Jayden Johnson continued his splendid season, pouring in 21 points in the victory that not only puts them in the State Tournament, but playing for the Region 4C crown against Handley, somewhat of a surprise at now 16-10 after knocking off NoVA fixture Loudoun County. The Judges aren’t that big of a Cinderella though, having won the Northwestern District Tournament and been in a couple of State Championship games this century, the most recent one coming during the COVID-abbreviated season a couple years back.
Done is Battlefield, which played for the Class 6 State Championship last year and enjoyed a 21-1 regular season. The Bobcats fell in triple-overtime to Freedom-Woodbridge – home to the Class 6 State Football Champions – by a count of 87-84 after leading by 14 at the start of the fourth quarter. Battlefield was done in by poor foul shooting, just 8-of-20 compared to 33-for-42 by Freedom, and the Eagles soared behind the sensational backcourt combo of juniors Shamar Sisco (37 points) and Tavarres Riley (29 points), who came in putting up 29.5 PPG. Riley was 18-of-21 at the charity stripe.
Then there was seventh-seeded Salem knocking off No. 2 seed Cox on the road in a game where the host Falcons led 33-20 with 6:49 to go. That’s where three-pointers started falling, turnovers occurred, and missed foul shots by Cox left the door ajar for the Sun Devils, who ended up getting a chance down by a point when the Falcons missed two free-throws with 7.8 seconds to go. They raced up the floor, and in the corner found junior guard Tim James Jr. with 1.6 seconds to go. James was fouled on a three-point attempt and proceeded to knock down all three free-throws for a wild 46-44 win.
That has No. 7 seed Salem taking on No. 6 seed Green Run, looking for its fourth State Tournament appearance in five years, on Thursday in the Region 5A semifinals at the Norfolk Scope. The buzzer-beater by Green Run’s Eizayah Chisholm didn’t win the game like a couple others on that zany night, but it prevented his team from losing and extended the battle beyond regulation. In OT, Chisholm and the Stallions outlasted Tallwood – which went ahead by a point late in the fourth quarter on a four-point play from senior guard Micah Eastman – for a 58-49 win.
Not to be forgotten about on this crazy night were Abingdon out of Region 3D and Grundy from Region 1D. Abingdon outlasted Lord Botetourt 75-70 in double-overtime. Jonah Looney sank a buzzer-beater for Grundy as the Golden Wave stunned Hogoheegee District Champ Lebanon, 55-53.
On to Wednesday’s action, which features eight of the 32 regions in play with five of them involving semifinal matchups and three consisting of quarterfinal tilts. A couple of games are re-matches from last year’s playoffs, such as Massaponax hosting Stone Bridge in Region 5D and Patriot hosting Potomac in Region 6B. Some of the characters are a bit different, but will the outcomes be?
Here's a quick review of how the Picks did for Tuesday 2/21/23 action...
Tuesday 2/21/23 Region Total: 44-12 (78.6%)
Hatfield's 2023 Region Tourney Record: 91-23 (79.8%)
REGION PLAYOFF ACTION for WEDNESDAY 2/22/23:
Region 6A: Semifinals at Norfolk Scope
#5 Cosby (16-7) vs. #1 Oscar Smith (22-1)
Hat’s Pick – Oscar Smith by 12
#3 Landstown (18-5) vs. #2 Manchester (22-1)
Hat’s Pick – Manchester by 1 in OT
Region Tourney Final Pick: Oscar Smith over Manchester
Region 6B: Semifinals
Cardinal #2 Potomac (19-6) at Cedar Run #1 Patriot (23-3)
Hat’s Pick – Patriot by 9
Cardinal #3 Freedom-PW (13-8) at Cardinal #1 Forest Park (17-8)
Hat’s Pick – Forest Park by 5
Revised Region Tourney Final Pick: Patriot over Forest Park
Region 5D: Quarterfinals
Potomac #3 Stone Bridge (14-11) at Commonwealth #1 Massaponax (20-4)
Hat’s Pick – Massaponax by 4 in OT
Albemarle (22-4) at Potomac #1 Potomac Falls (19-5)
Hat’s Pick – Albemarle by 2
Potomac #2 Riverside (13-11) at Commonwealth #2 Brooke Point (12-10)
Hat’s Pick – Riverside by 7
Commonwealth #3 Riverbend (9-15) at Patrick Henry-Roanoke (24-2)
Hat’s Pick – PH-Roanoke by 15
Region Tourney Final Pick: PH-Roanoke over Albemarle
Region 4A: Semifinals at Higher Seeds
#5 Great Bridge (14-9) at #1 King’s Fork (19-3)
Hat’s Pick – King’s Fork by 28
#7 Heritage-NN (13-11) vs. #6 Hampton (13-9) at King’s Fork
Hat’s Pick – Hampton by 4
Region Tourney Final Pick: King’s Fork over Hampton
Region 3A: Quarterfinals
#8 Colonial Heights (10-13) at #1 Hopewell (19-3)
Hat’s Pick – Hopewell by 25
#5 New Kent (17-8) at #4 Petersburg (16-7)
Hat’s Pick – Petersburg by 12
#7 Phoebus (11-12) at #2 Lafayette (21-3)
Hat’s Pick – Phoebus by 3
#6 Booker T. Washington (15-10; 14-9) at #3 Lake Taylor (15-7; 15-6)
Hat’s Pick – Lake Taylor by 8
Region Tourney Final Pick: Lake Taylor over Hopewell
Region 2D: Quarterfinals
Mountain #7 Central-Wise (12-11) at Southwest #1 Virginia High (19-5)
Hat’s Pick – Virginia High by 11
Southwest #3 Marion (12-12) at Mountain #2 Ridgeview (18-8)
Hat’s Pick – Ridgeview by 8
Southwest #4 Richlands (9-16) at Mountain #1 Gate City (11-14)
Hat’s Pick – Gate City by 6
Mountain #3 Union (10-14) at Southwest #2 Graham (10-12)
Hat’s Pick – Graham by 5 in OT
Region 1A: Semifinals
#5 Essex (13-11) at #1 Lancaster (24-0)
Hat’s Pick – Lancaster by 30
#3 Northampton (16-7) at #2 Middlesex (22-2)
Hat’s Pick – Northampton by 5
Region Tourney Final Pick: Lancaster over Northampton
Region 1B: Semifinals
#3 Carver Academy (21-3) at #2 Altavista (18-4)
Hat’s Pick – Altavista by 9
#4 Buffalo Gap (14-9) at #1 Franklin (23-2)
Hat's Pick – Franklin by 11
Region Tourney Final Pick: Franklin over Altavista
