Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress Hayesville guard Micah Moss, No. 21, sights Damien Soto, No. 4, after penetrating the Andrews defense.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
The Hayesville varsity boys basketball team climbed above .500 by pummeling two private schools for the second time this season.
Hayesville improved its record to 10-9 by pulverizing Highlands, 70-27, on Tuesday and walloping Summit Charter, 67-41, the following evening. That’s an average margin of victory of 34.5 points.
The back-to-back triumphs on the home floor were enjoyed by a team that’s played with intensity in each game but has struggled to fill the hoop consistently.
“I think we are getting better
in some areas. “We just have not shot the ball very well this season. Kids are trying very hard to overcome some of that with effort,” Hayesville Coach Mike Cottrell said earlier this week. “We will keep trying our best.”
Hayesville 70, Highlands 27
The Jackets made a bold statement with rigid defense by holding the Highlanders to 18 fewer points than Highland scored on Dec. 5. In fact, the visitors only managed three points in the third quarter and two in the fourth.
Hayesville’s balanced offense also made considerable noise.
The Jackets broke the contest wide open with a 24-point second quarter in which Rhett Sellers torched the net for three three-pointers.
The Jackets continued cooking in the second half with 18 points in the third quarter and 20 in the fourth.
Rhett Sellers was one of five Jackets to dial long-distance.
Red-Hot Rhett finished with a team-leading 11 points. Brady Reynolds also notched 11.
Hayesville reached the 70-point plateau for the second time in its last five games thanks to eight points from E.J. Abrams, six by Jackson Sellers, five apiece from Wes Jennings and Landon Trout, four apiece from Brendan Lynch and Kabe Shaheen, three apiece from Brady Jones and Damien Soto and two from Carter Whitfield.
The rebounding was spread out as well, with Jackson Sellers leading the way with five. Trout snatched four, while Lynch and Micah Moss had two each.
Hayesville 67, Summit Charter 41
The Jackets tired of playing with their food in the second quarter and outscored Summit 59-32 over the final 24 minutes.
Hayesville used lots of weapons to dominate — 11 Jackets landed in the scoring column, the defense was stingy and the good guys
only turned the ball over 10
times.
Reynolds wrapped the Bears with 18 points, including a dozen on three-point bombs. He also had three steals.
Jackson Sellers was the leading rebounder with six.
Moss shined with five rebounds, four points and zero turnovers.
Soto tallied nine points and collected four rebounds. Shaheen went for eight markers and three boards. Lynch totaled seven points and didn’t commit an error. Jennings and Eli Cheeks scored five points each.
Trout had four points; Rhett Sellers, three; Abrams, two without a turnover, and Whitfield, two.