Comeback falls short for the Jackets in round two
On Thursday, Feb.25 the varsity Hayesville Yellow Jacket basketball team welcomed the Mountain Island Charter Raptors for round two of the North Carolina state playoffs. The Jackets entered the game with a 15-0 record and seeded No.2 while Mountain Island boasted a 13-2 record and a No. 10 tournament seeding.
The Raptors scored first with a drive and layup just under a minute into play, but it didn't take long for Hayesville to find the bottom of the bucket. Rebounding was the name of the game in the opening quarter and Mountain Island was able to do a better job under the basket which allowed them to pull to a 12-5 lead by the end of the stanza.
Senior Blake McClure opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to the delight of the limited number of fans in The Hive, The Jackets did there best to play catch-up through the first half of the quarter, but Mountain Island seemed to be unable to miss shots and by the mandatory mask break halfway through the quarter, led 24-17. Baskets continued to fall for the Raptors and by the halftime break, Hayesville found themselves in a 31-21 hole.
In the third, rebounds continued to bounce the Raptor's way, giving them multiple looks at the basket. That, coupled with their quick hands on defense, opened the door for Mountain Island Charter to extend their lead to 47-35 by quarter's end.
Hayesville opened the fourth with a swarming defense that disrupted the Raptor's attack. Mountain Island was forced to make errant passes which the Jackets were able to take advantage of. Senior Eli Roberts nailed a 3-pointer for Hayesville to cut the lead to 5 points. The Jackets utilized a full-court press defense to frustrate Mountain Island and put them in trap situations, forcing them to use time outs.
The teams exchanged 3-pointers, charge calls and momentum as the minutes ticked down. Mountain Island would pull away only to see the Jackets close the gap. With under two minutes to go and Hayesville down by just 4 points, the Raptors used a basket, steal and basket in a matter of seconds to once again build an 8 point advantage.
With 27.3 seconds to play, Kolbe Ashe drained a 3 to cut the deficit to 5 points. Hayesville was forced to foul to stop the clock and Mountain Island made one free throw but missed the second. The Jackets got the rebound and with 5.2 seconds to play, McClure dropped a 3-pointer to pull the home team to within 3 of the Raptors. Mountain Island Charter used a timely steal to squash any hope of a game-tying shot and ended the Jackets' season with a 60-57 loss, Hayesville's only loss of the year.
While a state championship was the goal, a 15-1 season and a third straight Smoky Mountain Conference championship are spotlights on the talent of this year's squad.