Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Rabun County defenders try to cage Hayesville's Mr. Offense Slade Crouch, No. 3.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Coosa looked impressive dunking during warm-ups before facing Hayesville in the 30th Annual Battle of the States tourney on Saturday, but the pre-game rim-rattling wasn’t as impressive as the show Slade Crouch and Brady Reynolds performed in the actual game.
Crouch and Reynolds combined for 91 percent of Hayesville’s points and scored every Hayesville basket in the second half as the Jackets overcame an 11-point deficit and threw a scare into Coosa before bowing, 58-57, in a tussle that literally went down to the wire.
Coosa led 58-54 with :16.4 remaining, but Crouch nailed a big-time 3-pointer from the top of the key with :03.1 left to pull Hayesville within 1. Reynolds and E.J. Abrams then executed a perfect trap on the inbound play and stopped the clock by fouling Jaylen Worfford at :02.1.
Worfford missed both freebies, Crouch commandeered the rebound, dribbled twice and launched a rainbow from 60’ away that fell short of the rim by less than a foot.
Crouch — Hayesville’s leading scorer in all eight games — finished with a season-high 27 points on 10-of-15 field goal marksmanship. Reynolds drained 6-of-13 3-point tries for a career-high 25 points.
The Jackets comeback was truly impressive. Coosa led 48-35 with 6:30 remaining when Hayesville came alive.
Crouch and Reynolds put up the points as Hayesville outscored Coosa 22-10 during the final 6:11, but the rally was a total team effort. Key plays included a Crouch pick that sprung Reynolds for a bucket, Brendan Lynch and Abrams forcing Coosa turnovers, Abrams deflecting an Eagles pass to Reynolds, a Crouch steal he took to the bank, Sellers and Eli Chandler each taking a charge and Sellers hitting a free throw.
Then again, Hayesville should never have trailed by double digits. The Jackets missed several high-percentage shots and committed 17 turnovers.
“I’m not pleased with our inconsistent effort,” Hayesville Coach Mike Cottrell said. “We have to remember how important it is to play with intensity, but I thought we found a few things that work for us.”
A lot of things were clicking at the start of the game when Hayesville went up 6-0 thanks to Sellers’ rebounding, a steal by Landon Trout, Abraham and Chandler taking charging fouls and buckets by Trout, Chandler and Crouch.
Coosa’s first basket came on a put-back midway through the first period. The Eagles promptly hit stride and went up 10-9 at the end of the first. They extended their advantage to 29-23 by the intermission thanks in part to a three-minute scoreless stretch by Hayesville.
Coosa twice went up by 11 in the third quarter as Hayesville missed decent looks and failed to get second shots. The Eagles led 44-32 entering the final act and padded the lead to 13 before Hayesville seized the momentum and threw a scare into the boys from Rome, Ga.
Crouch not only led Hayesville in scoring, but was also tops in rebounds with 10 and first in assists with five. He also had two steals. Reynolds complimented his 25 points with four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sellers took a charge and contributed eight boards, a block, a deflection, and a point. Abrams took three charges, grabbed three caroms and had two steals. Chandler scored 2 points, had two boards and a pair of steals, took a charge and had a dish. Trout had 2 points, a block and rebound.
Hayesville (2-6) begins a six-game home stand Tuesday when Hiwassee Dam visits. Chattanooga Christian is in town on Friday.
“We’ll keep working on it,” Cottrell said. “January will be an important month. We’ll see if we can get them ready by then.”
Rabun County 81, Hayesville 36
Rabun County looked every bit like a 11-2 team riding a 6-game win streak as the Wildcats manhandled Hayesville on the first day of Towns County’s holiday tournament Friday.
The Yellow Jackets never led and were buried by a 25-7 second-quarter that produced a 42-13 halftime lead for the run-and-gunners from Tiger, Ga.
Hayesville fought with vigor after the intermission as Cottrell tried various combinations in an effort to slow the fastbreaking ’Cats but Hayesville continued to sputter with 14 of the 28 errors they made.
Hayesville shot a laudable 14-of-30 from the field, but missed 15-of-17 from behind the arch and only attempted two free throws.
Rabun County’s junior guard Huey Blalock led all scorers with 27 points.
Hayesville was paced by Sellers’ 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds. He was the only Yellow Jacket (who attempted at least two shots) to make more shots than he missed.
Crouch had 10 points, four rebounds, two steals, a block and a deflection. Reynolds sank a 3-pointer and cleared four rebounds. Lynch tallied 4 points and snared three boards. Trout notched 2 points. Rogers had 3 points and three rebounds. Michael Colandrea grabbed four rebounds. Chandler made his only shot attempt and cleared two caroms. Cooper Matheson contributed two boards. Brady Jones made his only field goal try.
Towns County 50, Hayesville 43
A poor start doomed Hayesville on Dec. 21 when Towns County visited.
The Yellow Jackets played the Indians even Steven through the final 24 minutes but couldn’t overcome the 14-7 lead Towns County built in the opening quarter.
Crouch was the leading scorer for Hayesville with 16 points. Chandler added a career-high 11 points, while Reynolds dropped 10. Sellers added 4. Trout scored 2.
Hayesville’s comeback attempt was hampered by 19 turnovers and eight missed free throws, 17 attempts.