Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Brendan Lynch, No. 10, and Brady Jones, No. 22, display serious hang time as they celebrate Hayesville's win over Cherokee as teammates Jackson Sellers, No. 33, and E.J. Abrams, No. 4, join the celebration.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville (9-9 overall, 4-2 conference) ran its winning streak to five in a row with three triumphs in as many games last week, including an exciting take-down Friday of Cherokee that avenged an early-season loss to the Braves.
“I thought the guys played hard. We made some mistakes but they are getting better,” Hayesville Coach Mike Cottrell said. “We are learning how to compete for four quarters but we need to be a little better down the stretch.”
Next up, games at Robbinsville on Tuesday, at Summit Charter on Wednesday, at Andrews on Friday and home against Highlands on Saturday afternoon.
Hayesville 58, Cherokee 53
The Yellow Jackets not only exacted sweet revenge for an 18-point loss to the Braves in December, they put the win in the bank by rebuffing a frantic comeback by Cherokee (7-7 overall, 3-3 conference).
Hayesville was sitting pretty with a 50-40 lead after Slade Crouch swished 2 free throws with 2:11 remaining and then Cherokee rallied.
In just :40, Hayesville committed two errors and missed a pair of free throws that helped the Braves score 3 unanswered baskets.
The second turnover was doubly deadly because Hayesville’s middle man Jackson Sellers fouled out after hurting Cherokee with 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Hayesville’s future looked downright shaky as Cherokee’s Savain Davis stepped to the line with the Yellow Jackets hanging on with 1:20 on the clock.
Davis’ first freebie cut the lead to 50-47. The second, rimmed out and Hayesville’s Brady Reynolds leaped for the ball as bodies flew while Landon Trout provided a brick wall box out.
On the other end, another scramble for the ball when Hayesville missed a free one. This time, Crouch crowded Davis while they chased the ball, which went out of bounds off Davis. Hayesville possession.
Hayesville calmly worked the ball until Davis fouled Crouch, who promptly nailed both shots. Hayesville 52-47.
More free tosses followed. Crouch hit one at :47 (53-48), Brendan Lynch bucketed one at :37 (54-49), Reynolds dropped another at :31.6 (53-50) and hit two at :29 (57-50) and Crouch iced another at :08 (58-53).
Hayesville’s successful last stand capped a wild-wooly roller-coaster ride that saw the teams tied five times. The final tie, 27-all, occurred on Davis’ 3 with 5:16 showing on the third quarter clock.
A few seconds later, Cherokee made a bid for the lead by stealing the ball and racing down-court for a certain layup until Lynch appeared and swatted the ball away to Crouch. On the other end, Crouch sidestepped a defender and netted a 3-pointer that gave Hayesville an insurmountable 29-27 lead.
Crouch, who shot an astronomical 20 free throws, led the victors with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Reynolds dropped 8 fourth-quarter points on the way to scoring 16 with seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
Cooper Matheson kicked in 8 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals. Lynch contributed eight rebounds, two blocks and two points. Trout had five boards and two assists.
Hayesville 69, Blue Ridge Early College 27
Hayesville played well and Blue Ridge Early College didn’t.
The Yellow Jackets scored 30 points off 25 Blue Ridge turnovers on the way to an easy road victory on Wednesday.
While the hosts struggled, Hayesville waltzed.
The Jackets committed just nine turnovers, made a dozen 3-pointers and scored 11 second-chance points off offensive rebounds.
Hayesville broke the game open in the second quarter by outscoring Blue Ridge 27-5 for a 42-15 halftime lead.
Matheson scored 10 of his game-high 19 points during the momentous second. He finished with five 3-pointers.
Trout scored 7 in the first period and finished with 10. Reynolds scored 9 and Jackson Sellers went for 8.
Brady Jones and Lynch had 6 apiece, while Riley Rogers totaled 6, Crouch put in 4, Eli Chandler had 3 and Michael Colandrea 1.
Hayesville 61, Swain 53
The Yellow Jackets used just eight players in besting Swain for the second time this season.
Reynolds riddled the hosts with 28 points on six 3-pointers and 10-of-12 marksmanship from the line in addition to picking the ball three times and snatching three caroms.
Crouch was also a tough cover from inside and out. He hit 2 home-runs in totaling 16 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and had four steals.
Sellers scored 7 and collected six rebounds.
Matheson six rebounds and 3 points
Trout 4 points, four rebounds and Abrams 3.
Hayesville, which committed 12 turnovers, led at all three quarter breaks.