Neal Wachob• Clay County Progress Brendan Lynch, No. 11, takes the rock to the hole for a deuce in Hayesville's big win over Swain.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s varsity boys looked to climb back above .500 with three home games this week — Summit Charter, 5-10, on Tuesday; Highlands, 4-13, Wednesday and Cherokee, 12-5, Friday.
Here’s how the Yellow Jackets fared last week:
Hayesville 66, Swain County 22
The Clay County boys outscored Swain County on three-pointers alone Friday.
The Yellow Jackets, 8-9 overall, 5-5 conference, busted 11 treys, shot 44 percent from the field and played tight defense in manhandling the visiting Maroon Devils, 66-28, in Smoky Mountain Conference play.
Brendan Lynch was the most prolific Hayesville bomber. The ‘Splendid Sapling’ rifled home 4-of-8 shots from distance and scored a game-high 18 points as the Yellow Jackets ended a five-game losing skid.
Lynch also cleared eight rebounds as Hayesville dominated the glass. Brady Reynolds pulled down six boards. Jackson Sellers had three. He also drew two charging fouls.
The Yellow Jackets guards even got in on the carom action. Kabe Shaheen and Micah Moss grabbed three rebounds apiece.
Hayesville seized control early and rolled to a 16-5 first-quarter advantage and then broke the game open by outscoring the visitors 27-11 in the second. The Black-and-Gold were even more dominant in the third, rocking the Maroons, 15-4 in the third.
Five Yellow Jackets connected from behind the arch: Brady Reynolds and Moss twice and Sellers, Damien Soto and Carter Whitfield, one apiece.
Reynolds scored 11 points; Moss, nine; Sellers, nine; Soto, eight; E.J. Abrams, four; Landon Trout, four and Whitfield, 3.
Murphy 82, Hayesville 48
The Yellow Jackets stayed within two baskets of Murphy during the first quarter in the Bulldogs’ kennel last Tuesday, but the hosts got hot in the second quarter and kept the pedal to the metal to earn an 82-48 victory.
Reynolds drilled four three-pointers in the third act and led the Hayesville charge with 17 markers. Lynch tallied 12 markers but their scoring wasn’t enough to counter a Murphy boys varsity that’s tall, fast and 12-3 overall and 5-1 in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
Soto added six points and Moss tossed in five.
Hayesville was within four points at the end of the first act, 19-15, but fell behind 43-25 at the intermission and was unable to close the gap in the final two quarters.
The Yellow Jackets also had three points apiece from Rhett and Jackson Sellers. The elder Sellers also drew four charging fouls. Jennings added a bucket.
Cale Harger led Murphy with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Abram Twiggs tallied 18 points and 11 boards.