Haywood boys peaking at right time of the season, earned 8-AA semi berth

Kevin Odom
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee
Haywood's Keithon Powell (25) goes up for a layup against Sacred Heart in during the opening round of the HUB Classic at Oman Arena on Dec. 28.

Brownsville – After starting the season 2-8 with two four-game losing streaks, the Haywood boys basketball team seems to be putting it all together right now in the postseason.

The Tomcats played a difficult schedule early and battled through multiple injuries, but they will get to play once again in the region semifinals for the fifth time in six years.

On Saturday night, Haywood beat Melrose 61-59, as post Markeston Douglas grabbed a misfired shot and hit the put-back at the buzzer for the win.

“The coaches told us to trust the process, and at first we were playing around, but once we all bought into the coaches plan, we started playing better and winning games,” said senior Keithon Powell. “We are a family here and we stay together and play together.”

Haywood (16-17) plays Mitchell in the region semifinals on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for a spot in the Class AA sectionals.

Douglas finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Powell scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Chris Jones added 19 points.

But back in December, a District 15-AA championship and a berth into the region semifinals was a big question mark. But Haywood coach Kendall Dancy had a plan all along for his team.

“This being my seventh season coaching at Haywood, I now realized that it is all about the postseason,” said Haywood coach Kendall Dancy. “So what we tried to do is play every Memphis team we could find because we know that the road through the postseason goes through Memphis and hope that we would learn from the early season losses.”

So far, that plan is working in the postseason. Players like Powell, Jones and Douglas along with DeMarius Boyd had to learn to be the go-to players after losing two NCAA Division I players last year.

Haywood's Chris Jones (24) goes up for a shot against Sacred Heart in during the opening round of the HUB Classic at Oman Arena on Dec. 28.

“The talent is here, but the guys did not have a lot of time to learn to play together because of playing behind Tristan Jarrett and Dedric Boyd. It was hard to find minutes,” Dancy said. “So now that they have gotten the playing time, they are coming together.”

Even though the wins weren't there early on, the team learned to follow the plan and stay focused. And not winning is something that Haywood players aren't used to with two state semifinal appearances over the past three years.

And the player's faith in the process resonates through their feelings about Dancy.

“Coach Dancy is like a father figure to me," Powell said. "Without coach, I would not be the person I am now.”

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.