Hayes’ clutch 3-pointer helps Woodward end Gainesville’s perfect season

Woodward Academy’s Hayes brothers left No. 1 Gainesville in a haze on Saturday afternoon.

Myles Hayes got a pass from his older brother Jarvis Hayes Jr. and drained a 3-pointer from the left wing with six seconds remaining to give No. 3 Woodward Academy a 62-61 win over undefeated and top-ranked Gainesville in the Class 5A semifinals at Georgia State.

“I ain’t going to lie,” Myles Hayes said. “I just knew it was going in. I love being in that situation.”

With 14.5 seconds left, Woodward coach Anthony Thomas drew up a play that called for Jarvis Hayes to handle the ball and make a decision. Jarvis, a junior who was the Region 4 Player of the Year, could shoot it or pass it to his younger brother.

“We actually ran a play for Jarvis, and we always talk about making the right play,” Thomas said. “So when Jarvis came off the handoff, he had options right there. He got to the middle of the paint, and a (Gainesville defender) helped, so he was able to make the pass to Myles and he buried the shot. That’s a prime example of being selfless.”

Woodward pulled away in the second quarter and led 41-28 at halftime, only to have Gainesville use its stout defense to get back in the game after the break. The Red Elephants didn’t allow Woodward to score a point until 2:58 remained in the third quarter, and they cut the deficit to 47-44 going into the final quarter.

“I tell you what happened … Gainesville happened,” Thomas said. “They’re 30-0. We weren’t doing what we were supposed to do offensively, and they just took advantage of it.”

Gainesville built a 61-56 lead, but Woodward made it a two-point game after Donovan Johnson’s 3-pointer. Gainesville missed three of four free throws in the final minute to keep the door open for Woodward, and Hayes took advantage.

Myles Hayes led Woodward (25-6) with 17 points and Jarvis Hayes scored 15. They are the sons of former Georgia standout and NBA player Jarvis Hayes, who is an assistant on the staff at Georgia State, where his twin brother Jonas is the head coach.

Johnson scored 12, and Bentley Lusakueno played through foul trouble and scored 10.

Gainesville (30-1) got 14 points from Brandon Nelson and 12 points each from K.J. White and Charlie Gersmehl.

Gainesville was ranked as high as No. 18 in the nation by MaxPreps and had been No. 1 in Georgia all season. But Woodward was prepared by an aggressive schedule that included games against Private No. 1 Holy Innocents’, Class 6A No. 2 McEachern, 6A No. 8 Westlake, and a rugged region that included No. 7 Decatur and Tri-Cities.

“No disrespect to anybody else, but we treat all our opponents like they’re 30-0,” Thomas said. “But beating a good opponent like Gainesville, we appreciate that very much.”

The victory avenged Woodward’s 52-51 loss to Gainesville on Nov. 29 and put the War Eagles back in the championship game for the second straight year. Woodward was beaten by crosstown and region rival Tri-Cities in the final a year ago.

“That feeling after that game when we lost last year, I don’t want to feel that again,” Myles Hayes said. “That’s what’s driving us to go so hard.”

Woodward Academy will play No. 2 Alexander for the Class 5A championship on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Macon Coliseum.

Alexander got 25 points from Marquise Leslie, a Charleston Southern signee, and extended its winning streak to 24 games with an 85-76 win over defending state champion Tri-Cities.

The Cougars (29-2) will be making their third appearance in the championship game and won it all in 2023. They also got 18 points from Jayden Crawford and 14 points from Torian Green.

Tri-Cities (17-14) was led by Georgia Tech signee Jalan Wingfield with 26 points. Khalid Jones scored 15 and Tre Keith added 13.

Tri-Cities dominated the first quarter behind Wingfield’s eight points and led 17-8. Alexander started to find its footing and rode the hot hand of Leslie, who scored ten points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to help the Cougars get to within 34-31 at halftime. Tri-Cities took a blow with 16.5 seconds remaining when Wingfield was whistled for an offensive foul, his third personal.

“Tri-Cities ran some things that you generally don’t see, box-and-one, triangle-and-two, so once we kind of figured out what they were doing and started attacking it, we started scoring and got our pressure on,” Alexander coach Jason Slate said.

Alexander tied the game on a 3-pointer by Crawford on its first possession and had a 57-51 lead going into the final quarter. The Cougars put it away with an 8-0 run midway in the fourth quarter that pushed the lead to 11 points.