By Angela Watts
Managing Content Editor, DigitalSports.com
** Re-live the Titans’ championship victory and celebration in 18 minutes with the video player below the story **
There were still 19.1 seconds showing on the clock at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University Friday night when the celebration started. T.C. Williams junior Edward Jenkins stood at mid-court and flashed the now famous “dynasty” diamond with his hands.
Titan senior Anthony Winbush was awaiting the ball at the foul line — striking the exact same pose as he grinned broadly towards the team’s student-cheering section.
On the bench, senior Travis Berry — who shined in the 70-57 Titan victory over Bethel in the Virginia AAA state championship game — sat huddled on the bench with fellow senior Tomas Camara, their arms linked as they bounced up-and-down in their chairs like little boys, far too anxious to sit still.
“It was a long time before the clock expired,” Jenkins said. “It felt like it took forever. … But we achieved our goal.”
And when those final seconds finally ticked away and the buzzer sounded, it was like a choreographed event. The entire Titan team leapt to their feet and rushed the court, and then proudly held the “dynasty” sign high above their head as they bounded around toward their cheering fans.
All except head coach Ivan Thomas.
He, instead, simply crumbled to his knees on the hardwood floor at the Siegel Center. His arms remained outstretched for several seconds as he bobbed up-and-down and wept with joy — and immense gratitude.
Fittingly, it was Berry, Jenkins and Winbush — who scored all but 11 of the Titan’s points in the championship game — who ultimately pulled Thomas to his feet and wrapped him in a long and tearful embrace.
“This was really sweet because … I’m a man of faith,” said Thomas, who was still choked up long after the championship trophy had been handed to the Titans. “And He blessed my family, and my team family to come through some tough things. And so, I thought that’s what you saw over these last three games. You saw a team that believed in a little bit more than just each other; in something higher.
“It means a lot to bring the title back to Northern Virginia.”
T.C. Williams (29-3) becomes the first Northern Region team to win a state championship since Lee did in 1981. It marks the Titans’ second state title overall, having also won in 1977.
“I can’t even explain it,” said Berry, who came off the bench to shoot 5-of-8 from three-point range for a game-high 23 points. “It’s the greatest feeling ever. We knew we were going to win the game, we just didn’t know by how much. But to put it down like this? It feels great. Confidence will take you a long way.”
Despite T.C. Williams’ dominance in Patriot District play — the Titans have won 52 games against district opposition over the past three seasons — there were few outsiders who predicted they would run with that same ease through the state tournament. Fewer thought a win would come against a Bethel team that entered the finale not only boasting a 30-1 record, but also six Division I players on its roster.
But the Titans led the championship game from start-to-finish on the strength of its pressure defense and sharp-shooting ways.
T.C. Williams forced 12 first-half turnovers — 20 in all — and didn’t necessarily settle for easy layups on the other end of the floor. Oftentimes, instead, the Titans pulled up for jump shots, many of them from behind-the-arc. In all, T.C. Williams shot 52-percent from the field and a whopping 47-percent from three-point range.
In addition to Berry’s five three-pointers, Jenkins (22 points) and Winbush (14) each added a pair, including a dramatic, 40-foot jumper that Winbush nailed as time expired at the end of the third quarter that pushed the Titans’ lead to 48-30 and sent their fans into a frenzy.
“It’s a great feeling because any body on our team can go off on any night,” Winbush said. “We have great chemistry. It’s all about chemistry. “
It was also — all season long — about teamwork.
Senior Javonta Campbell and Winbush running the point. Berry and Jenkins shooting lights-out. Camara, Winbush and senior Joshua Jordan pulling down rebounds. Juniors Dominique Copeland and Gavin Peterson, sophomore Ryan Yates and senior Ricky Colbert playing lock-down defense. And so much more.
“This team has every component that a team needs,” Thomas said. “This team here … they are a team.”
And they — as they showed time and time again with the diamond they formed with their hands — are a dynasty in the making.
“Well, diamonds are forever and so, what they’re saying is … we created a dynasty there at T.C.,” Thomas explained, mimicking the hand signal with open palms. “We are 52-0 in the Patriot District. We haven’t lost a game in three years. We are the best team in Northern Virginia over the past three years, make no doubt.
“Diamonds are forever and so will our team be at T.C. We will keep doing this — working hard every day and every year — and the dynasty will continue.”
Email: awatts@digitalsports.com
No. 1 T.C. Williams 19 13 16 22 — 70
Bethel 11 7 12 27 — 57
T.C. Williams — Campbell 1 1-5 3; Winbush 4 4-7 14; Jenkins 8 4-11 22; Yates 0 0-2 0; Camara 1 0-1 2; Berry 7 4-6 23; Jordan 2 2-4 6. Team totals: 23 15-36 70. Bethel — Meredith 1 2-2 4; Evans 4 1-2 11; Lee 1 1-3 3; Olivier 5 9-11 19; Weaver 6 2-4 14; Jarvis 1 0-0 2; Bacote 1 0-0 2; Djim 1 0-0 2. Team totals: 20 15-22 57. Three-pointers — T.C. Williams 9 (Berry 5, Jenkins 2, Winbush 2); Bethel 2 (Evans). Rebounds — T.C. Williams 28 (Winbush 9, Camara 5); Bethel 41 (Olivier 11, Cooperwood 8). Assists — T.C. Williams 16 (Winbush 5, Jenkins 4); Bethel 7 (Evans 2, Lee 2).
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