By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
For the second time in two weeks, Hayesville came within a whisker of upsetting Smoky Mountain Conference champion Robbinsville.
The most recent near-miss – Robbinsville 47, Hayesville 41 — occurred during the semi-final round of the Smoky Mountain Conference varsity boys basketball tournament in Andrews.
The game was remarkably similar to frenetic, 53-43 decision Robbinsville notched on its home floor on Feb. 4. In that game, Hayesville was within a single point at halftime and the end of the third quarter. This time, Hayesville and Robbinsville were tied at halftime and the end of three.
The final period was also painfully familiar — Robbinsville buried Hayesville in an 8-point hole both times. Once again, Robbinsville did little wrong and nearly everything right with the game on the line.
Last time, the Yellow Jackets were unable to recover. Monday, the Black-and-Gold clawed their way out with spirited play, pulling to within a single basket with 1:35 to play.
Hayesville trailed by 10 when Kyle Lunsford scored on a feed from Logan Caldwell, who had just rebounded the ball. Lunsford’s bucket came with 3:56, plenty of time to upend the best team in the SMC.
The Black Knights did their part by missing the front of consecutive one-and-ones and then turned the ball over on a charging foul with 2:53.
Taylor McClure then answered opportunity’s knock with a huge offensive rebound with 2:31 left. Caldwell rewarded his buddy’s second effort by knocking home a triple to make it a 43-38 game. Plenty of time to knock out the Knights.
Ethan Hooper kept the momentum going by blocking a Robbinsville shot with 2:04 left. Fittingly, Hooper nailed three-point ball that whittled the shrinking lead to 43-41 with 1:35 on the clock.
It seemed like the roof was going to blow off the gym when McClure stole the ball at 1:18, but Robbinsville got it right back, Hayesville had to foul, and the Black Knights hit 4-of-4 from the line in the final 1:07. That was all she wrote.
That final turnover derailed a beautiful, chaotic comeback.
Turnovers hurt Hayesville during the final eight minutes, which is sadly ironic since the Yellow Jackets committed just 8 turnovers. Unfortunately, three of the errors occurred during crunch time. And two of the booboos led to Robbinsville points — a 3-pointer that increased the lead to 41-33, and a pair of free throws that pushed the score to 45-41 with 1:07 on the clock.
The loss was especially bitter since Hayesville came out gangbusters.
The Jackets led 13-11 after the first quarter and threatened to blow the game open in the second act when Hooper hit a layup, Caldwell sank a leaning one-hander and Hooper rang the bell with a deep, deep three-ball. The Yellow Jackets led 21-13 when the smoke cleared.
And then Robbinsville’s Xander Wachacha got busy. The quick-and-slick guard busted a pair of 3-pointers and made a double-pump lay-up – in the span of 2:01 – to erase all 8 points.
Robbinsville had the upper hand from then on, save for Hayesville tying the game just before halftime and leading briefly, by one, early in the third quarter.
Hayesville Coach Mike
Cottrell’s game plan was beautiful. The Yellow Jackets swarming defense kept Robbinsville’s twin towers from doing much damage inside. On the other end, Hayesville showered three-pointers – most them good looks. Unfortunately, only 7-of-29 homerun balls found the mark.
Free throws were also a factor. Hayesville didn’t get to the line in the last quarter. Robbinsville, on the other hand, made 5-of-5 during that stanza.
Hooper led Hayesville with 16 points. Caldwell tallied 14 markers, grabbed 6 rebounds and handed out 4 assists.
Taylor McClure snared 9 rebounds and had 2 assists, took 2 charges, blocked a shot, and made his only shot from the field.
Lunsford scored 5 points. Isaac Chandler had 2 rebounds. Asher Brown had 2 rebounds and 2 points and played stellar defense.
The Black Knights (20-5) play for the SMC Tournament crown Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Andrews High School.
Hayesville will take a 14-11 record into the postseason playoffs. The Yellow Jackets hope to replicate the inspired ball they played to get into the SMC Tournament semi-finals.
Hayesville 49,
Cherokee 39
The Yellow Jackets used sizzling 3-point shooting to beat the Braves for the second time in three meetings, as Hooper and Cade Denton nailed three apiece in an oh-so-sweet, 47-39 victory in the opening round of the SMC Tournament last Thursday.
Denton was Coach Cottrell’s answer to Cherokee’s game plan of sticking to Caldwell and Hooper like barnacles, and the bearded wonder responded by knocking down nearly every shot he took.
Denton pumped in 3-of-4 three-point shots against Cherokee, 2-of-2 free throws, and his only field goal attempt in tallying 13 points to compliment his 7 rebounds.
Denton consistency made big plays, but the third quarter was his showcase. Hayesville trailed 32-29 with 1:08 left in the period when Cade reminded Cherokee of the foolishness of giving him open looks. First, Denton nailed a pull-up jumper. Less than a minute later, Denton swished a three-ball to give Hayesville a lead it never relinquished.
Denton was the man of the hour, but he wasn’t a one-man show. Hooper was a blur of motion as a decoy who refused to force shots and handled the ball with the care a mother shows her newborn baby. Super Hooper only attempted 3 shots from the field and 4 from downtown, but played a solid game with 9 points (he hit 4-of-4 freebies), 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Caldwell simply wore Cherokee out. At least three Braves tried guarding him with bumps, humps and thumps, but Caldwell still went for 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.
The Hooper/Caldwell tandem lit up the scoreboard when Hayesville most needed their production — both scored 4 points in the final period.
Hayesville’s bigs also contributed in a big way. Starting center Kyle Lunsford continued to show great court sense and did yeoman work with 10 boards and 8 points.
Seth Hedden was simply superb, taking good care of the ball, screening, boxing, cutting, and playing solid D while handing out 4 assists and pulling down 3 boards.
Denton and Hedden were so good off the bench that Cottrell simply to stay with both even though they took minutes that usual went to Taylor McClure and Asher Brown. Oh if only a team could play seven at once! Or eight! Isaac Chandler also proved worthy of extended minutes with 7 rebounds.
This isn’t the first time Denton has announced his presence with authority. He lit up Copper Basin for 15 markers with only one miss (a three-point attempt).
And this isn’t the first time Hayesville has surprised opponents with formidable firepower off the bench: Jacob McClure shot out the lights with 5 triples in a 19-point, 5-rebound statement against Blue Ridge Early College; and Landon Hughes exploded for 13 points with 4 treys in 5 tries in a 72-14 waxing of Nantahala.
Denton also shot the ball well at Andrews last Tuesday.
Andrews 63,
Hayesville 43
Denton was the only Yellow Jacket to make multiple 3-pointers as Hayesville struggled to score from the floor in a 63-43 defeat.
Denton finished with 8 points off the bench in a game the Wildcats busted open in the second quarter by outscoring their visitors 17-8.
Hayesville only made 4 field goals and 5 three-pointers during a frustrating night. The majority of scoring came at the free throw line, where the Jackets made 20-of-30.
Chandler bucketed 8-of-10 charity tosses on the way to scoring a team-high 10 points. Brown knocked down 5-of-6 in totaling 9 points.
Caldwell also scored 9. Luke Lee added 5, while Jacob McClure tallied 3.