Hayesville's E.J. Abrams, No. 3, and Brandon Lynch, No. 10, discourage a Murphy field goal attempt.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Landon Trout’s heroics with less than a minute to play lifted Hayesville to a thrilling 45-44 Smoky Mountain Conference victory over Andrews last Tuesday.
The contest was knotted 44-all when Trout stole the ball and hustled down court, grabbed the rebound on a missed shot and drew a foul with :27 remaining. He then knocked down a freebie to edge the Yellow Jackets past Andrews, 45-44, Hayesville’s first lead in six minutes.
Andrews advanced the ball past mid court with enough time to launch a shot, but Abrams intercepted a cross-court pass with :06 to scuttle the Wildcats’ hopes.
Trout finished with five rebounds, 2 points, one blocked shot and one steal.
Abrams led Hayesville with 21 points, four steals, two assists and two rebounds.
Brady Reynolds nailed five distance shots for 15 points. He also contributed three assists and two rebounds. Peyton McGaha had five assists, three steals and three boards. Brandon Lynch earned five boards, blocked three shots, made two steals and was 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
“It was a fought win at Andrews,” Hayesville Coach Josh Cottrell said. “I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it and finding a way to win.”
Andrews led most of the way. In fact, the Wildcats were sitting pretty with a 31-21 advantage when Hayesville put it all together in the third quarter.
First, Reynolds nailed a three-pointer after Abrams kept a possession alive with an offensive rebound. A minute later, Reynolds zipped a humdinger of a pass to Trout, who was fouled and hit the front end to cut the lead to 31-25.
Following an Andrews turnover, Reynolds delivered another sweet bullet, this time to Abrams, who scored along the baseline. Andrews 31, Hayesville 27.
Andrews called timeout to regroup, but the Jackets had more tricks up their sleeves. Abrams stole the ball and ignited a fast break that culminated with Reynolds’ lay-up to cut the lead to 31-29.
Hayesville then blanketed Andrews with a suffocating press and the Wildcats coughed up the ball.
The next play was a thing of beauty — McGaha to Abrams, back to MacGaha, back to Abrams for a ting tang, walla walla, bing bang three-pointer to put Hayesville in the driver’s seat, 32-31, as the third quarter ended.
Andrews regained the lead in the fourth act, extending their dominance to 43-37 on a three-pointer with 3:26 remaining.
Again, Hayesville countered. McGaha fed Reynolds for a three-pointer that trimmed the spread to 43-40. McGaha struck again with 1:44 on the clock, driving the lane for a bucket that left the Jackets down by a digit, 43-42.
A free throw extended Andrews’ tenuous lead to 44-42, but an Abrams steal and lay-up knotted the score at 44-all. The stage was set for Trout to step into the spotlight with his big rebound and game-winning charity toss.
Things didn’t go as well for Hayesville when Murphy visited on Friday.
Murphy 53, Hayesville 31
Hayesville jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Bulldogs gained the upper hand with effective full-court pressure that broke the game open.
Murphy turned the tide with a run of 9 unanswered points at the end of the first period that put the Bulldogs on top 20-6.
Hayesville matched the visitors in the second quarter but fell farther behind in a disappointing third quarter.
The Yellow Jackets were hampered by 29 turnovers and poor shooting.
Abrams led Hayesville in scoring, 11, and five steals.
Reynolds also played a complete game, tallying 9 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Lynch collected nine rebounds and scored 2 points. Trout cleared six rebounds and scored 3 points.
Johan Webb totaled four rebounds and 4 points. McGaha had three rebounds and 2 points.
Brady Jones contributed three rebounds.