By Deby Jo Ferguson
Sports Writer
Hayesville Middle School's Yellow Jacket basketball team began the season with a tough loss to rival Murphy, but then rebounded with a strong win against Hiwassee Dam/Ranger on the road.
Next up, Hayesville then faced a very athletic and fast Cherokee team who got out to a double-digit lead. The Jackets managed to cut the deficit to 3 points with just minutes to go in the fourth quarter. “Unfortunately, Cherokee came up with two key baskets to push the lead far enough ahead that we couldn't catch up in the time left,” said head coach Andrew Brown.
Following the tough loss, Hayesville traveled to Swain County to take on the Maroon Devils. After only scoring 9 points in the first half and finding themselves down by 10, the Jackes put together a 29-point second half. Those points, coupled with a great defense set the stage for Landon Trout to hit a game-winning layup.
Looking to keep their winning ways going, Hayesville traveled to Robbinsville to play the Black Knights. Coach Brown said, “The game was back and forth early, but Robbinsville put together enough defense and made buckets for a 7-point defeat against the Yellow Jackets.”
Now with their record at 2-3, the Jackets had 2 games before the Thanksgiving break. The first was against Martins Creek in a battle that saw Hayesville jump out to a quick lead and never look back.
The game was an example of great teamwork as everyone contributed to get the victory and got the season record to 3-3. Attention quickly turned from the win to the incoming Andrews Wildcats.
"The Andrews game was our most complete game of the season," said Brown. By grabbing the lead early and maintaining that lead throughout the game, Hayesville was able to control the pace to get the win and a 4-3 record at the Thanksgiving break.
To start the second half of the season, the Jackets hit the road to face the first place Murphy Bulldogs. Coach Brown said, while the Jackets played hard and put up a good fight, Murphy had too much offense in the end and came away with the win.
On Monday, Dec.6, Hayesville played host to Hiwassee Dam/Ranger and came away with a 54-12 victory. "We came out in a smothering man-to-man defense which led to multiple fast break points on the other end," said Brown. The Jackets secured the win by double digits putting them above .500 for the season. Ben Bethel led scoring with 11 points in a game that saw 11 Jacket teammates add additional points in the win.
The Jackets boys traveled to Cherokee on Thursday, Dec. 9 for a fast-paced game against, what coach Brown called, a very good Cherokee team who took the win over the Jackets 68-40.
"We played hard, but the shots weren’t falling early," said Brown. Cherokee pulled out to a double-digit lead at the half, behind some hot shooting. Hayesville couldn’t close the gap in the second half and Cherokee took the victory.
Landon Trout had one of his best games of the season finishing with 13 points to lead Hayesville. Will Brown added an additional 9 points, seven of which were from the foul line. Brady Reynolds sunk two baskets and Tre Graves sunk two baskets and two from the foul line.