Jackets and Indians have a game for the ages

HIAWASSEE, GA — After an opening round win over Polk County, Tenn. the Hayesville Yellow Jackets faced of with the Towns County Indians in the semifinal round of the Battle of the States Christmas tournament Friday, Dec. 27. The familiar rivals/neighboring teams did battle for 32 minutes in front of a full gym and when the dust settled, Hayesville moved to the consolation bracket with a 67-64 loss. 

Hayesville controlled the tipoff but a couple of early fouls put the Indians in position to score and they did with 6:56 left in the quarter to go up 2-0. The run continued for Towns County and they built up a 5-0 before the Jackets got on the board  thanks to the hands of Jake McTaggart. A pair of 3-pointers for the Indians put extended their lead but Hayesville fought back to pull within 1 point with just under four minutes to play.

Towns County managed to hold their lead with a jumper and a layup but couldn't answer McTaggart under the basket which kept the Jackets close. Hayesville had possession with a minute to go and settled in to take the final shot of the quarter. Kolbe Ashe drove through traffic for a layup attempt but couldn't get the ball to fall. The quarter ended with the Indians leading 18-14.

The Yellow Jackets started the second with a steal but couldn't convert. On other end of the floor, foul trouble forced Towns County to substitute. Even without a key player the Indians found ways to put points on the board. Hayesville head coach Mike Cottrell called a timeout to focus his team with just over six minutes left in the half. On offense, the Jackets got looks at the basket but struggled putting the ball in the net. With 4:46 before the half, Mark Cothren broke the scoring drought for Hayesville to close the gap to 4. 

Pacing picked up for both teams as the clock ticked away. Both teams manufactured turnovers but the Jackets couldn't capitalize and Towns increased their lead to 27-19 with 2:30 left in the quarter. Rebounding also went in the Indians favor, often limiting Hayesville to one shot per possession. Freshman Kyle Lunsford scored for the Jackets with 30 seconds to go in the half to make the score 31-23. Hayesville fought hard to regain possession with three seconds to go but Ashe wasn't able to get a 3-pointer to fall and the Jackets went into the locker room down 31-23. 

In the third quarter, Hayesville struck first when McTaggart rebounded a missed shot to put it back in for 2 points. The Indians quickly answered with a bucket of their own to stretch the lead back to 8. It was clear the Jackets goal was to feed their big man down low in hopes of a bucket or a foul. Towns County's focus on McTaggart opened up the lane for Ashe who cut the deficit down to 6 with an old fashioned 3-point play. 

With 3:53 left in the quarter, McTaggart pulled Hayesville to within 3 with a basket and a foul shot. The Jackets then made a quick steal but couldn't get the shot to fall. With 2:50 left in the quarter, Ashe sunk a 3-pointer to give Hayesville their first lead of the game, 41-39. Towns County battled back to tie things up and regain the lead with a follow-up 3 pointer. Ashe drew a foul with 26 seconds left in the quarter, sinking both shots and cutting the lead back to 1. The Indians answered with a free throw of their own but McTaggart nailed a half court shot at the buzzer to give the Jackets a 46-45 lead.

A foul to open the fourth sent Towns County to the line where they went one for two to tie things up. After another Indians' basket, Eli Roberts drew a foul for the Jackets and made one of his free throws to pull Hayesville back to within 1 point. Not to be outdone Towns County earned a trip to the line to increase the lead to 3 points. Ashe closed the gap again with a layup through the lane. The Indians stuck with their game plan of driving to the basket, drawing contact and nailing free throws to keep the lead. With 5:38 left in the game, Blake McClure capitalized on and "and one" to tie things up 52-52.

McClure then hit a layup to put the Jackets up temporarily but Towns answered with a 3 pointer to retake the lead. Hayesville's Hayden McClure drained two foul shots to again even things up. The Jackets used foul shots to take the lead and an exchange of baskets at the 3:40 mark caused the Indians to call a timeout. When play resumed, Towns sunk a free throw which cut Hayesville's lead to 1. Blake McClure came up big on the defensive end, drawing charge calls and creating foul trouble for the Indians. 

Towns County refused to go away, draining a 3 point shot with 1:10 to go and was awarded a free throw with a chance to give the Indians the lead which they took advantage of. Following an exchange of possessions, the Indians threw the ball in for a quick 3-pointer which they missed. The Jackets got the rebound and Ashe cruised in for the easy layup to put Hayesville up 65-63 with 32 seconds to play. The Indians answered with a bucket of their own to retake the lead and force Cottrell to call a timeout. With 17 seconds on the clock, the Jackets brought the ball down the court where McTaggart couldn't get the short jumper to fall. Towns County got the rebound and was fouled to stop the clock with 2.9 seconds left before the horn. Both shots were good, giving the Indians a 67-64 lead. A timeout set up the final possesion of the game. Blake McClure made the long pass to McTaggart who found Ashe at the 3-point line who took the shot, which was tipped, giving Towns County 67-64 win. 

Hayesville will finish the tournament in the consolation bracket against Lumpkin County, GA at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 28

Leaders vs Towns County

Jake McTaggart: 28 points

Kolbe Ashe: 20

Blake McClure: 8 points