Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Brady Reynolds, No. 11, gives Hayesville two points on his trademark one-handed floater against Robbinsville.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s varsity boys basketball team went from riding high to feeling low in the span of 48 hours.
Tuesday’s 58-53 win over Murphy was the best of times. Unfortunately, Thursday brought disappointment in the form of 65-49 loss to visiting Robbinsville in the regular-season finale.
Forty-eight hours later, another low when Murphy knocked Hayesville out of the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament.
“Tough week,” Hayesville Coach Mike Cottrell said. “I’m really proud of the way they competed in all three. We didn’t shoot the ball real well this week.”
The Yellow Jackets, 12-13 overall and 5-5 in the conference, fourth place, are looking forward to the post-season playoffs. Pairings will be announced Saturday.
Here’s a summary of final regular-season games and the tournament appearance:
Murphy 59, Hayesville 54
The Yellow Jackets played well, but not good enough to beat Murphy on the opening day of the SMC Tournament on Saturday.
Hayesville committed just eight turnovers, but the shooting was a bit off — 69 percent from the charity stripe, 41 percent from the field, 29 percent from beyond the 3-point arch — and the Bulldogs owned the boards, 34-26, and held off repeated rallies.
In the first quarter, a 7-3 run fueled by three-pointers by Brady Reynolds and Brendan Lynch gave Hayesville a 14-12 first-quarter lead.
The second quarter was a much different story. Murphy came back, went up by eight and took a 29-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Hayesville knotted the score twice in the second half, but the Jackets never led.
The Jackets tied the game at 29-all on back-to-back three-pointers by Cooper Matheson, only to see Murphy regain control with a pair of free throws.
Sade Crouch answered promptly with a reverse scoop shot to make it 31-31, but Murphy pounded the ball inside for a bucket and the lead.
A Landon Trout bucket brought Hayesville within two, but Murphy pushed its advantage to 39-33 when the Jackets missed a pair of long balls, committed a turnover and were whistled for a questionable blocking foul during a two-minute drought.
Hayesville fought to narrow the gap in the fourth. Murphy, however, would not falter.
The Bulldogs, who came into the game with an 0-2 record against Hayesville, salted the game away by making 7-of-8 free throws in the final minutes.
Reynolds draining a pair of three-pointers in the final :20. He finished with a team-high 17 points. He also had three rebounds.
Crouch knocked down 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line for 14 points to go with three assists and a team-high nine rebounds.
Matheson tallied six points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lynch also scored a half dozen points. He nailed 2-of-3 three-pointers and collected four rebounds. Trout put in five points, 2-of-3 field goals, and cleared three rebounds. Jackson Sellers scored three and had four rebounds and two steals.
Hayesville 58, Murphy 53
A highlight of the season occurred Tuesday, Feb. 11 when the Yellow Jackets knocked off Murphy for the second time in as many meetings.
The Bulldogs enjoyed a nine-point lead in the second quarter and were on top 27-22 at halftime and 40-36 with :33 left in the third quarter before Hayesville went on a tear.
Hayesville seized the momentum — and lead — during the final :30 of the period when Crouch buried the rock on a double-pump jumper and Lynch Larry Birded a corner trey on a pass from Reynolds :11 later. Hayesville 41, Murphy 40 entering the final act.
The Bulldogs had their final hurrah when a three-pointer gave them a 43-41 advantage that last a little more than a minute; until Murphy lost the ball on an out-of-control drive. Reynolds claimed the loose ball and found E.J. Abrams, who swished a pull-up jump shot to give the Jackets a lead they refused to relinquish.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Reynolds and pair of Crouch free throws put Hayesville up 52-43 with 1:36 and it looked like time to empty the bench. Good thing Cottrell didn’t.
The seemingly insurmountable lead all but evaporated when Hayesville missed a pair of free throws and the Bulldogs nailed a pair of treys to make it a 53-51 ballgame with 31 ticks left.
Impending doom was avoiding when Crouch twice dribbled through the defense and drew fouls. Slippery Slade deposited 3-of-4 tries to put the game out of reach.
Reynold hit two more free throws with :03.1 on the clock to seal the deal.
Hayesville rode to victory on 11-of-23 shooting from the field and 21 made free throws. Another deciding factor: 10 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 11 second-chance points. The Jackets also stole the ball 13 times, which resulted in 11 fast-break points.
Robbinsville 65, Hayesville 49
Hayesville led 21-17 after one quarter, but the SMC regular-season champs opened the second act with nine unanswered points that gave the Black Knights a lead they never relinquished.
Robbinsville opened up a 12-point lead in the third quarter, but the Jackets stormed back into contention with a three-pointer by Reynolds, a bucket by Sellers and a triple by Trout that trimmed to score to 43-39.
That was as close as Hayesville could get.
Robbinsville controlled the outcome with a 31-21 rebound advantage and 55 percent shooting from the field. Bryce Adams was an especially tough cover — he totaled 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and collected 11 rebounds.
Hayesville canned 11-of-18 from the field but faltered with 25 percent free throw shooting. Sixteen turnovers in the final three quarters didn’t help.
Turnovers weren’t a problem during a stellar opening period. Hayesville’s offense clicked with a pair of three-pointers by Reynolds and a trey apiece from Matheson and Riley Rogers, both 12th graders in the starting lineup on senior night. Crouch, Trout and Rogers added baskets during the opening minutes in which Hayesville played errorless ball.
Unfortunately the game turned in the second quarter when Hayesville went five minutes without scoring, a dry spell that included five errors.
Reynolds spearheaded the Hayesville attack with 13 points and three rebounds.
Rogers made 4-of-5 shots and finished with nine points and two assists. Matheson, also a senior, added eight points and two rebounds. Jackson Sellers contributed seven rebounds and four points. Brendan Lynch hit 2-of-3 shots for five points to go with two boards. Landon Trout was perfect with a two and a three for five points. He also had two rebounds. Crouch posted five points.