When the outcome of a game is still to be decided, confidence is a trait that can will a team to victory. Leading by four points with less than three minutes remaining in the Patriot District tournament championship, T.C. Williams guard Tyrell Sitton demonstrated a keen sense of senior leadership needed to command a game. Sitton’s arching 3-pointer on the left elbow with 2:41 left in the fourth quarter started a 13-4 run to end the game and give the Titans a 69-56 win over Annandale. The win over the Atoms gives T.C. Williams its fifth Patriot District tournament championship in the past six seasons.

After leading 31-16 with 2:10 remaining in the first half, it looked like T.C. Williams would easily humble the Atoms. Junior small forward T.J. Huggins came off the bench to score eight quick points to help the Titans stretch their large lead and create momentum. But the Atoms were far from done. Annandale closed out the second quarter on an 11-0 run that was started by a Sanar Shamdeen 3-pointer and finished with a Karl Ziegler offensive rebound for a layup at the end of the quarter to narrow T.C. Williams’ lead to 31-27 at halftime.

Ziegler’s drive through the lane for a layup with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter tied the game at 33. With the help of senior point guard D’Angelo Boyce (15 points) and senior forward Melvin Robinson (12 points), Annandale used a 17-2 run to get even with the top-seeded Titans.

The Titans broke free briefly after the Atoms’ gutsy run. T.C. Williams followed up a made 3-pointer by reserve guard Jordan Byrd with an alley-oop from Daquan Kerman to Jamal Pullen to help the Titans get back into their athletic tempo and give them a 46-37 advantage.

Even with the Titans in a groove, Annandale didn’t back down. Karl Ziegler’s physical attributes were displayed when he was fouled after getting an offensive rebound and converted on a shot for a three-point play. Ziegler’s nine third-quarter points helped the Atoms get back into the game with the score 46-42 entering the fourth quarter.

Then T.C. Williams stepped up their renowned defense. Ten times this season the Titans held an opponent to less than 50 points. They almost did it again in the championship game.

After Sitton made his crucial 3-pointer to provide the momentum in the closing minutes, the Titans got a major spark from point guard Tyler Driver. The senior drove hard on the baseline and got hacked while making a layup for a three-point play that gave T.C. Williams a 62-52 lead with 2:11 remaining in the game. “We look to play hard from beginning to the end,” Driver said. “It’s not just the last five minutes. To finish out the game like that is amazing.”

T.C. Williams Bullies Way to Regional Championship

Titans' size proves too much for Hornets to handle

Two quick 3-pointers by Herndon’s Jonathan Beltran to start the second half gave the Hornets a five-point lead over T.C. Williams in the Northern Region semifinals Saturday.

Not wanting the high-powered Herndon offense to get rolling. T.C. Williams coach Julian King called a timeout. “I told them, ‘Just keep playing. We make an aggressive mistake, fine, just get back on defense,’” King said. “I was just trying to get them to do the stuff that we normally do.”

What the Titans normally do is use their athleticism and length to crash the boards and get easy scores. They did just that in outscoring Herndon 19-10 the rest of the quarter and, despite a late rally by the Hornets, the Titans were able to hold them off for a 64-61 win and a berth in the Northern Region championship game as well as the AAA state tournament.

“It was kind of tough, [Herndon] coming down and hitting some big shots,” said T.C. Williams point guard Tyler Driver. “We just stayed together and got the job done.”

T.C. Williams was in control the entire fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 58-51 with just 1:21 left in the game. Herndon standout Austin Hamilton then made a twisting layup to cut the lead to five. A few trips later, trailing 61-55, Hamilton got an offensive rebound and put-back of his own, drawing a foul in the process. He made the free throw for the last of his game-high 32 points to bring the Hornets within three with 31.9 seconds left in the game.

Herndon immediately fouled Driver on the inbounds, and he made 1-of-2 free throws. On the ensuing possession, Beltran gave his man a nice head-fake to get him up in the air and jumped into him on a 3-point attempt to send him to the line with a chance to cut the lead to one. He made only the first free throw, giving T.C. some breathing room.

Again, the Titans made just one free throw when they were fouled, and Beltran made a driving layup to make the game 63-61 with 5.7 seconds left. After another 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line for the Titans, Hamilton got a decent look at a 3-pointer for the tie, but it came up short and the Titans escaped with the victory.

Driver led the Titans with 15 points, while Rick Mathews had 14 and Pullen added 12. T.C. Williams plays Annandale in the Northern Region championship on Monday. It will be the fourth time the teams have met this season, with the Titans taking two of the first three, including the Patriot District championship game

After a sluggish first half, T.C. Williams coach Julian King made a point to his team about the defensive structure he prides himself on, and the way Mathews didn’t back down.

After Mathews’ drawn charge, T.C.Williams' Jamal Pullen made a basket and guard Tyrell Sitton (eight points) grabbed a steal off a deflection for a fast-break layup and a 51-46 lead. Moments later, guard Tyler Driver stole the ball and made a pair of free throws to vault the Titans to what looked to be an insurmountable 53-46 lead with 1:15 remaining in the game.

The Atoms, who had played T.C. Williams tough all game and all season, didn’t give up hope in this fourth meeting. Ziegler had a game-high 21 points and power forward Melvin Robinson scored 11 difficult points down low. After a Ziegler steal and layup, the Atoms were all of a sudden in a one-possession game, trailing 54-51 with 40.2 seconds left. That’s when the fouling frenzy began.

With 33.3 seconds remaining, Annandale fouled Driver (nine points). Driver, who calmly made two free throws a minute earlier, missed both shots. Down by just a possession, the missed foul shots gave the Atoms new life. However, the Atoms did a poor job of boxing out the shooter after the miss. Driver did what any smart shooter would do and followed his own shot. After a scramble for the ball on the baseline, Driver got a rebound off his own miss and was fouled again. This time, he converted both free throws to give the Titans a 56-51 lead.

With 15.3 seconds remaining, Ziegler was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer. The forward made all three foul shots to give the Atoms a chance trailing 57-54. Then the Titans’ Daquan Kerman and Pullen each went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to close the door on the Atoms.

Annandale led 21-17 at halftime following a sloppy first half. The Titans darted out to a lead midway in the third quarter when Mathews converted a three-point play to give the Titans a 29-26 advantage they wouldn’t relinquish. The third quarter played to the Titans’ favor as T.C. Williams took a 39-34 lead entering the final quarter.

By virtue of advancing to the regional championship, both T.C. Williams and Annandale qualify for the state tournament. T.C. Williams (24-5) will play Eastern Region runner-up Phoebus on Friday at 8:45 p.m. at Robinson. Annandale (20-8) will play Eastern Region champion Norcom in Williamsburg on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. The Titans previously played Phoebus at the VirginiaPreps.com Classic on Jan. 22 and lost 48-41.