By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
You don’t win 600 games in 33 years by being conservative and following convention.
On a night when Coach Mike Cottrell was honored for winning 600 high school basketball games, Hayesville’s legendary coach easily secured his 601st with an unconventional starting lineup as the Yellow Jackets cruised past Blue Ridge Early College, 80-30.
“We started five guards tonight. We’ve won a lot of championships here with five guards lineups,” Cottrell stated. “It’s a matter of move the ball well, with no serious post.”
Hayesville’s version of small ball propelled the Yellow Jackets to a 20-7 lead before Cottrell sent a big — Jackson Sellers — into a game the hosts had just broken open.
Fittingly, all five starters contributed as Hayesville seized momentum just prior to that first substitution.
Hayesville clung to an 11-7 advantage when the dam broke open. Asher Brown lit the fuse with a bucket with 4:22 on the first quarter clock. Sixteen seconds later, Slade Crouch stole the ball and rifled it to Landon Hughes, who drained a three-pointer. Luke Lee then cashed in an offensive rebound and Jacob McClure added a trey off a feed from Brown to complete a 9-0 run that prompted a Bobcats timeout.
The Yellow Jackets cruised from that point on, taking a 24-11 lead after one quarter, 44-17 at the half, and 67-27 after three periods.
“We still didn’t play great,” Cottrell said. “I thought we just shared the ball, our timing was better and our intensity level was higher.”
Hughes led a balanced attack with 14 points after tallying three triples in the third period. McClure and Cooper Matheson scored 11 apiece, Riley Rogers contributed 10, Brown added 8 and Sellers contributed 7.
Sellers also grabbed 10 rebounds. Lee had seven caroms, Lee cleared six and Brown grabbed five misses.
Brown also had a team-high six assists and three steals. McClure was the top thief with four takeaways.
All 12 Yellow Jackets had at least one rebound and 11 of 12 scored as Hayesville did battle without starting center Isaac Chandler, who was unavailable due to the flu.
The bench clearly came through on a night when all hands were needed.
“We challenged the bench a little bit, because we have to have them,” Cottrell remarked. “They’re stepping into it well. I’m proud of them. They played well tonight.”
Hayesville 61, Hiwassee Dam 55
The Yellow Jackets also used a balanced attack to open the season with a win over Hiwassee Dam last week.
Crouch led the way with 14 points, Brown added 12, McClure also had a dozen, Hughes tallied 9 and Chandler scored 7.
The two teams battled to a 24-all halftime tie before Hayesville gained breathing room by making 8-of-9 free throws to secure a 43-28 lead entering the final period.
The Yellow Jackets then withstood a 26-point barrage by Hiwassee Dam in the final act. Crouch kept Hayesville above water with 7 points in the fourth.
“Hiwassee Dam is a very gritty team, so it was a hard game to start the season with. I was really pleased with their performance late in the game,” Cottrell said. “We did some things late in the game we need to learn from and the next time we play maybe that type of game will be a little easier for us.”
The Yellow Jackets take their 2-0 record to Nantahala on Friday.