Photo-Neal Wachob Yellow Jacket Francisco Rios, No. 10, discourages an inbound pass.
By Gary Corsair
Senior Sports Writer
Wes Jennings was a handful-and-a-half for Hiwassee Dam in the second half last Wednesday as Hayesville’s JV boys remained undefeated with a resounding statement.
In the last two quarters, Jennings scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting, grabbed 6 rebounds and stole the ball twice to catapult the Yellow Jackets from a 22-16 lead to a 59-33 major decision.
Jennings did significant damage with a credible Wemby imitation during a two-minute span early in the fourth period when he scored on a give-and-go, snared a defensive rebound and took the rock coast-to-coast for another bucket, exploded down the lane for yet another basket, swatted a shot and stole the ball.
Hayesville led all the way, but Hiwassee Dam stayed close throughout the first two quarters and was within 6 at the intermission (22-16).
The second half was a different story. The Yellow Jackets went Hulk Hogan on the visitors with 3 steals, a pair of three-pointers and 3 boards by Jennings as the Black-and-Gold outscored the Eagles 15-6 in the third act.
Fittingly, Jennings kicked off the power surge. The big guy canned a free throw and added a bucket :24 later to give Hayesville a 30-20 advantage. A two-pointer by Carson Finn and a homerun ball by Byron Engelmann extended the lead to 35-20.
Hiwassee Dam was clearly cooked. Jennings and Grant Baldwin made sure of that. While Jennings dominated underneath, Baldwin collected 3 rebounds and scored a pair of baskets.
Jennings led Hayesville with 20 points and Engelmann rifled in 19. Micah Moss added 6, Eli Cheeks 4, Finn 3, Sellers 3, and Francisco Rios 1.
Hayesville is 3-0 after wins over Highlands (54-34), Summit Charter (45-11) and Hiwassee Dam.