Neal Wachob • Clay County Progress "Rhett the Jet" Sellers shows his stellar shooting form as he launches the rock against Murphy.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Three Hayesville players had big, big quarters but those outstanding individual efforts weren’t enough to overcome red-hot shooting by Andrews in Tuesday’s Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament at Murphy.
Rhett Sellers pumped in 7 second-quarter points, Jackson Sellers shredded the Wildcats with 9 points and collected two boards in the third and Landon Trout exploded for 10 points and four rebounds in the fourth, yet Andrews prevailed, 73-52.
Micah Moss had his mojo working all four quarters. Mighty Micah scored 8 points with bold drivers to the bucket, handed out a team-high three assist and earned four rebounds.
Wes Jennings also stepped up, dropping a trey and two-pointer while playing half of the second quarter.
The Yellow Jackets battled to the wire but were handcuffed by the Sellers brothers dealing with illness and early foul trouble to Brendan Lynch and E.J. Abrams, who exited midway through the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Andrews shot the lights out in the first act with four three-pointers – with just two misses – and 4-of-6 accuracy from the field while the Jackets struggled to make 3-of-11 shots.
The Wildcats led 21-9 entering the second quarter and kept Hayesville at bay by continuing to blister the nets. Andrews made 12 triples and shot 50 percent from downtown.
The Jackets made just 11 turnovers and canned a respectable 16-of-35 from the field but faltered with 3-of-18 from outside the arch and 9-of-17 from the charity stripe.
Trout led Hayesville in scoring with 10 points. Jackson Sellers added 9; Moss, 8; Kyle Shaheen, 5; Wes Jennings, 5; Abrams, 3; Lynch, 3 and Brady Reynolds, 1.
Lynch was top rebounder with five. Moss, Shaheen and Trout all had four aroms.
Abrams and Shaheen had two steals each.
Murphy 88,
Hayesville 56
Sometimes effort isn’t enough.
Hayesville’s varsity boys exerted themselves in a big way when Murphy visited last Friday, but hustle wasn’t enough to counter considerable height and the Bulldogs penchant for getting to the free throw line.
Murphy, 19-3 overall, 11-1 conference, scored 32 points in the paint and bucketed 20-of-32 free throws against the smaller Lady Jackets in a SMC meeting.
Murphy’s tall boys and paint presence presented persistent problems, but no Bulldog worked harder than Hayesville’s Trout, Rhett, Jackson and Moss.
Trout held nothing back, sprinting from end to end, going chest to chest with behemoths, boxing out, pushing, grabbing, slashing, pump faking and muscling his way to 6 points, two steals, two rebounds and an assist during the third quarter.
Trout, the hardest working undersized forward in western North Carolina, finished with 8 points.
The smallest hooper, Rhett exploded up and downhill like a split atom. The kid drove the lane with king-size courage in amassing a team-high 12 points that included 4-of-5 foul shooting. He also handed out four assists, earned three rebounds and had a one and a half steals.
Jackson was swarmed every time he received the rock on the low block but managed five rebounds, two assists and 2-of-2 from the line even though he didn’t attempt a field goal.
Moss had two steals, made 3-of-4 charity tosses and kept probing the Murphy defense.
Wes Jennings was another bright spot. Big 33 tallied 10 points on 4-of-6 marksmanship and grabbed two boards after entering the game midway through the second period.
Hayesville hung tough for the first four minutes and was behind by just three, 8-5, when five turnovers – including three steals and a bad pass – helped Murphy score 10 unanswered points.
Murphy enjoyed a 23-10 at the first stop, 43-22 at the half and 57-39 entering the final waltz.
Hayesville leaders
Scoring: Rhett, 12; Jennings, 10; Trout, 8; Abrams, 6; Brady Reynolds, 5; Damien Soto, 5; Lynch, 3; Moss, 3; Jackson, 2 and Carter Whitfield, 2.
Rebounds: Jackson, five and Rhett, three.
Assists: Rhett, three.
Steals: Moss , two and Trout, two.