Newland – It wasn’t that the Andrews boys basketball team gave away the game in its first-round state playoff matchup against Avery County on Feb. 21. It was more like some other games the Wildcats played this season.
A few mistakes cost No. 19 seed Andrews late, and the No. 14 Vikings took advantage, allowing them to come away with a 62-61 win.
“We got killed on the boards again late and that was pretty much the difference maker like it has been a lot of times this year,” head coach Matt Maennle said. “We had the lead late but made some huge turnovers late that just killed us. All it was was guys trying to make plays and I’ll never fault kids for trying to make a big play late and make a shot and win the ball game. But a couple turnovers there really hurt us.”
Avery County (18-9 overall) would fall at No. 3 seed Eastern Randolph (26-3), 75-60, in the second round on Feb. 23.
Two free throws from Cam Rattler put Andrews (14-12) up 55-49 with four minutes left, and both Ty Clark and Isaac Weaver hit foul shots to keep the Wildcats in front 59-54 with about two minutes to go. The Vikings called timeout after a layup by Landon Ingham cut the lead to 59-56 with 2:12 left, then he hit another shot off an Andrews turnover after the timeout.
Two more free throws from Rattler pushed the Wildcats lead back to 61-58 with a little more than a minute remaining, only for Landon Hughes to tie the game with a three-pointer with 57 seconds remaining. Ingham had 16 points and Hughes 13 to lead the Vikings, while Rattler had a game-high 21 and Clark had 18 to lead Andrews.
On the ensuing possession, the Wildcats committed another turnover, and Avery County called timeout with 39.5 seconds left. The Vikings killed most of the clock before Hughes drove to the basket. Drew Martin stepped in the lane and appeared to be in position to take a charge.
The officials disagreed and called a blocking foul on Martin, and Hughes hit one of two free throws to put Avery County in front. Clark was able to get a clean look at a three-pointer from the right corner for Andrews, but it bounced off the rim.
Up until that point, the Wildcats had shook off a bit of a slow start offensively to put themselves in position for a trip to Eastern Randolph. The Vikings built a 26-20 halftime lead thanks to seven 3-pointers, something Maennle didn’t see on film or other scouting reports.
“They spread us out and hit some shots,” Maennle said. “They had some kids hit shots that didn’t hit any on the film I’d got.”
Avery County extended its lead to 34-25 in the second half thanks in part to two more three-pointers, including one from Jack Crenshaw that banked in off the backboard. Andrews started to get into a rhythm after that, going on an 18-3 run to end the third and start the fourth quarter. The Wildcats would answer the Vikings three-point barrage, with two from Clark and one from Isaac Weaver and Rattler.
Avery County retook the lead at 46-45 on a layup, but a three-point play by Weaver put Andrews back in front until the final seconds. The Wildcats never took complete control of the game, though were able to answer back every potential Vikings push until the final minutes.
The loss marked the end for eight Andrews seniors, including four starters in Weaver, Donovan Bateman, and Austin and Drew Martin. All eight also helped the Wildcats win their first SMC football championship since 1983, and brought that same work ethic to basketball even if they didn’t have the same success.
“They’re a bunch of blue-collar kids,” Maennle said. “They’re Andrews kids through and through. They stayed through the hard time and the good times, and were an extremely successful group of seniors who have done a lot for Andrews.”
The Wildcats will have a lot to replace, but do have a good foundation for next year in Rattler and Clark, as well as sophomore Kegan Ellis and juniors Graham Burch and Tyler West who all were featured in the rotation this year. Add in the key players from a junior varsity team that won the Smoky Mountain Conference regular-season championship, and Maennle sees Andrews remaining competitive.
“I know people talk about us losing a bunch of seniors,” Maennle said. “But I had a lot of sophomores and juniors that made some significant impacts all season long that will be huge for us moving forward.”