Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress E.J. Abrams, No. 0, looks for a Yellow Jacket teammate to feed after busting down the lane.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville occupied the driver’s seat for three quarters and clung to a 2-point lead with :49.8 remaining before the win slipped away to Hiwassee Dam, 53-51, last Wednesday in the Darryl K. McClure Gymnasium.
Hiwassee Dam, 6-4, tied the score 51-all with a steal and fast break lay-up with :31 remaining and went ahead 52-51 after rebounding a Hayesville miss and making a free throw.
A Hayesville turnover with :10 left to play led to another Hiwassee Dam free throw. A final desperation shot by the Yellow Jackets at :01 was off the mark.
The Yellow Jackets shot a superb 14-of-25 from the field and dominated the glass to the tune of 40-28 but were undone by 16 percent shooting from 3-point land, 5-of-32, 47 percent firing from the free throw line, 6-of-13, and 19 turnovers.
Hayesville began the contest with eight unanswered points on baskets from Kabe Shaheen, Brendan Lynch, E.J. Abrams and Jackson Sellers.
On the other end of the court, the Yellow Jackets frustrated the visitors with stingy help defense that handcuffed the Eagles tallest player and Sellers bravely nullified to two drives down the lane by drawing two charging fouls in the first three minutes.
Hiwassee Dam finally broke into the scoring column with 4:02 on the first-quarter clock.
Hayesville led 16-9 after the first quarter, but Jonah Dockery got hot and tossed in nine points as the Eagles trimmed the margin to 25-23 by halftime.
The Yellow Jackets extended their advantage to six, 31-25, on back-to-back baskets by Landon Trout and a fast break lay-up by Lynch off a steal by Abrams but Hiwassee Dam bounced back.
The Eagles pulled ahead 44-42 on a pair of free throws midway through the final quarter and expanded their lead to 49-42 a minute later.
Time after time Dockery hit big shots to keep Hayesville in the rear view mirror.
Things looked bleak, but Hayesville refused to fold. First, Trout wrestled the ball away from an Eagle, got fouled and hit the front end. Next, Sellers took another charge. Lynch promptly plowed into the paint on a sweet dish from Sellers and trimmed the spread to 49-45. On the other end, Sellers boarded a miss and fed Trout for a 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining.
Down 49-48, Hayesville glimpsed payday when Trout stole the ball. Brady Reynolds then brought down the house by swishing a 3-ball to put the Jackets up 51-49 with 1:01 left to play. Hiwassee Dam was back on the ropes.
The Eagles responded by driving the ball down the lane, but Hiawassee Dam looked to end a two-minute drought and tie the score with a drive down the lane, but Sellers came through again, taking a charge for the fourth time – which is probably a school record — to get the ball back for Hayesville.
The gym was rocking, and then, the aforementioned turnover at :31 that led to Hiwassee Dam tying the score.
Trout was outstanding on both ends of the court with 11 points, 12 rebounds, 4-of-6 shooting, four steals, two assists and just one turnover.
Lynch excelled with 12 points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Shaheen contributed five assists, three steals, three rebounds, two points, took a charge and blocked a shot.
Sellers grabbed six boards, took four charges, handed out three assists and scored three points.
Reynolds tallied 12 points on four 3-pointers and collected three caroms.
Daemien Soto scored nine and had five rebounds.
Abrams had two steals and two points.
Hayesville, 4-1, traveled to Bryson City to meet Swain County on Monday.
Next up: the 31st Annual Jim Melton Battle of the States holiday basketball tournament at Towns County High School. Hayesville, 4-1, plays Towns County, 4-7, at 8:30 p.m Saturday, Dec. 27. A Yellow Jacket victory will advance Hayesville to Monday’s 8:30 p.m. game against Chesnee of South Carolina, 6-3, or Franklin, 6-1. The championship game will be played Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.
Hayesville scoring
Lynch, 12; Reynolds, 12; Trout, 11; Soto, 9; Sellers, 3; Abrams, 2 and Shaheen, 2.
Hayesville leaders
Rebounds: Trout, 12; Lynch, nine; Sellers, six.
Assists: Shaheen, five and Sellers, three.
Steals: Trout, four and Shaheen, three.
Score by quarters
Hayesville: 16-25-35-51
Highlands: 9-23-34-53