Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress Towns County players give Hayesville's Kabe Shaheen, No. 3, a rude welcome as he drives the lane. Imagine Shaheen's surprise that no foul was called.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Four Hayesville starters scored as the varsity Yellow Jackets rocketed off the launch pad with 14 unanswered points against Rosman on the way to a 72-31 waltz last Friday.
Landon Trout started the avalanche with a bucket set up by a Brady Reynolds pass 29 seconds into the game.
A minute later, Hayesville turned a beautiful bang, bang, bang play when Jackson Sellers gathered a Rosman miss and hurled a baseball pass half the length of the court to E.J. Abrams, who shoveled the ball to Kabe Shaheen for a layup.
The Tigers were clearly in trouble and the hits kept coming.
The Jackets rolled to a 21-12 first-quarter advantage as Shaheen iced two free throws and eviscerated the Tigers with three buckets in a row as Reynolds handed out four assists, swiped the ball four times, tallied four points and grabbed two boards.
Hayesville’s defense ensured Rosman would stay in the rear-view mirror. Five Jackets had thefts as the Tigers coughed up the ball nine times during the second stanza.
Somehow, the Jackets were even more dominant in the third quarter when they upped their 45-22 halftime hold to 63-26 by outscoring the visitors 18-4.
This time, rebounding triggered the dominance. Hayesville cleared 15 boards in the third, being led by three apiece by Shaheen – the smallest player on the floor – and Brendan Lynch and two each from Trout and Wes Jennings in just a few minutes.
The Jackets’ largest lead, 37 points, was reached in the middle of the fourth with a 10-0 run that consisted of a put back by Jennings, 2-of-2 free throwing by both Shaheen and Lynch, an inside score by Lynch and a Micah Moss steal/layup.
Three Jackets reached double figures: Reynolds, 13; Shaheen, 12 and Damien Soto, 10.
The top marksmen were Soto, 5-of-6; Rhett Sellers, 4-of-5; Shaheen, 4-of-5 and Trout, 2-of-2.
Score by quarters
Hayesville: 21 - 45 - 63 - 72
Rosman: 12 - 22 - 26 - 31
Hayesville leaders
Scoring: Reynolds, 13; Shaheen, 12 and Soto, 10.
Rebounds: Soto, nine; Lynch, seven and Reynolds, four.
Assists: Reynolds, five.
Steals: Reynolds, three; Abrams, two; Moss, two and Sellers, two.
Towns County 53, Hayesville 38
The Indians and Jackets were scheduled to play basketball last Saturday night, but they ended up competing in a track meet.
Towns County, 8-8, ran and ran and ran – without the turnovers usually associated with teams that run and gun.
The Jackets maintained the pace fairly well, but the Indians’ up tempo play and fast-shifting zone defense contributed to Hayesville making just 4-of-20 from behind the arch.
Things went better closer to the basket. Hayesville made 8-of-13 from the field, led by Sellers’ 4-of-4 accuracy. The free throw line wasn’t a problem either — Hayesville made 10-of-12, with Reynolds, 4-of-4, leading the way.
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Hayesville matched Towns tit-for-tat after the Indians began the game with a 12-0 lead.
The Jackets got on the scoreboard on an Abrams trey two minutes into the game — assist by Sellers.
The two teams traded punches the rest of the quarter, with Towns unable to go up by more than nine and Hayesville unable to get closer than seven.
Reynolds’ first three-ball reduced the gap to 21-14, but Jonas Rouse busted a triple and Towns enjoyed double-digit leads the rest of the way.
Hayesville kept battling, but Towns always had an answer — a fast break layup off a turnover, saved rebounds thrown off Jacket players and a bit of stalling.
Sellers was the most productive Jacket. He scored 10 points without missing a shot and led the team in six rebounds and three assists.
Reynolds was the top scorer with 17.
Score by quarters
Hayesville: 14 - 21 - 30 - 53
Towns County: 24 - 33 - 43 - 38
Hayesville leaders
Scoring: Reynolds, 17; Sellers, 10 and Abrams, 5.
Rebounds: Sellers, six; Shaheen, three; Soto, three and Trout, three.
Assists: Sellers, three.
Steals: Shaheen, one.
Cherokee 62, Hayesville 41
The Jackets surprised their hosts by leading the first quarter 16-12.
Unfortunately, Hayesville’s lead didn’t hold up.
The Braves seized control with four three-pointers in the second act and maintained the lead throughout the second half.
The Yellow Jackets were hurt by 22 turnovers.
Reynolds led Hayesville with 18 points. Abrams and Trout scored five apiece.
Sellers headed the rebound brigade with six. Trout, Soto and Reynolds each had four.
Score by quarters
Hayesville: 16 - 21 - 31 - 41
Cherokee: 11 - 29 - 42 - 62