Bryson City – The first two times the Murphy and Andrews boys basketball teams met, the Bulldogs were able to use their size advantage inside to stay one step ahead of the Wildcats.
After Murphy prevailed 67-61 on Feb. 8 on the Bulldogs’ Senior Night, the two teams met again in the first round of the Big Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament two days later. In that matchup, the third time was the charm, as Andrews prevailed 74-67.
The Wildcats played Hayesville in the conference tournament semifinals Monday night, falling to the Yellow Jackets 66-53.
“Our kids, I don’t want to say they wanted it more this time, but they played their guts out all four quarters,” Andrews head coach Matt Maennle said. “We made some big shots and huge free throws in the fourth quarter.”
In the first matchup, the Bulldogs got ahead early and stayed ahead the rest of the way. They started to separate near the end of the second quarter and took a 35-25 lead into the locker room.
Murphy led by as many as 13 in the second half, continuing to answer any potential Andrews rally by getting the ball down low. Hunter Laney had a team-high 19 for the Bulldogs, while Zack Skogen had 13 and Dominick Rummler added 12.
Thanks to a 23-point night from Kegan Ellis, the Wildcats had a shot late. Trailing by three with about a minute left, Andrews was called for three fouls, the last one a ticky-tack whistle on Donovan Bateman. The Bulldogs held on from there.
Two days later, the Wildcats (12-11 overall, 3-7 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) carried that strong finish into a hot start. Instead of Ellis being the only hot hand, Isaac Weaver buried three triples in the opening frame, while Austin Martin added another.
Andrews cooled off from outside the rest of the way, but stayed in attack mode. Weaver had a game-high 19 points, while Bateman had 18. Meanwhile, Murphy (11-13, 4-6) struggled to hit on the other end and couldn’t take care of the ball.
“It was definitely controlled chaos,” Maennle said. “They listened, they had their ears open tonight. They knew what we wanted as coaches. They knew what they wanted as players, and they did it.”
Andrews led 35-27 at halftime and was threatening to run away with the game after scoring the first six points of the third quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t go away, and finally started to hit shots in the fourth quarter.
Brown opened the quarter with a three, the first of six Murphy hit in the period. After locking in on defense all game, Andrews couldn’t get a stop and had some issues with the full-court press. The Bulldogs whittled a 15-point fourth-quarter lead to only six with 1:41 left.
Cameron Rattler answered back with a layup out of the press break, then an air-balled three by Skogen all but wrapped up the game for the Wildcats. Even with Murphy charging back into the game, Andrews never wavered. The Wildcats shot 14-of-18 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
With the loss, Murphy will wait for the playoff draw Saturday. The Bulldogs are No. 20 in the state’s RPI rankings, which means they will be on the road for the first round.
Andrews will likely join them on the road when its conference tournament run ends, but still has another shot at the undefeated Yellow Jackets. Hayesville took the first matchup 58-35 in Clay County on Dec. 14 then again 53-42 at Andrews on Jan. 25.
“Second time we played them, they shot the lights out of it,” Maennle said. “But we fought back in the second half and only lost by 11. That’s a great team, great-coached team.
“We’ll get our guys ready to go, and that’s all that matters. We got a chance.”