Hayesville – For the first time in more than 20 years, the Andrews boys varsity basketball team is the Smoky Mountain Conference champion.
The Wildcats took down top-seeded Robbinsville 55-44 to secure the championship Saturday night and bring the trophy back to The Valley. To get to the championship game, they first defeated Swain County on Feb. 15, then beat Cherokee on Feb. 18 to secure their spot in the finals.
With the win, the Cats secure home-court advantage in their first-round 1A playoff matchup against Winston-Salem Prep. Andrews played after the Cherokee Scout’s press time Tuesday night; results will be in the March 5 edition of the local newspaper.
The No. 3 seed Wildcats took on No. 1 seed Robbinsville in a jam-packed gymnasium Saturday night at Hayesville High School. It was a true big-game feel, as both teams had their sights set on the conference championship.
The Black Knight won the tip-off, but it was the Wildcats who took the early lead and didn’t give it up through the four-quarter battle.
The Wildcats got to scoring early and built a slim 11-9 lead after the first quarter. At 1:30 into the second quarter, the Wildcats took a 10-point lead. Robbinsville called a timeout with 6:05 left in the second quarter as the Cats were heating up and leading 22-9.
After the time out, Robbinsville cut into the Wildcats’ lead to bring the game within 11 points late in the second quarter. The Wildcats played tough defense against the Black Knights and took a 31-16 lead to halftime.
Just before halftime ended, both teams returned to the court to loud cheers from their respective fans, as they were only one half of basketball away from crowning the conference champion.
Right away in the third quarter, the Wildcats continued hitting shots from all over the floor and built a 20-point lead. Late in the quarter, the Knight made a push to cut the deficit to 10 points. Andrews led 43-31 heading into the final frame of Saturday’s game.
Robbinsville continued their push and kept cutting into the Wildcats’ lead early in the fourth quarter. They got within seven points of the Wildcats, but the Cats didn’t let them get any closer than that.
Andrews senior Ty Clark had a message to the team in the final moments with the game on the line.
“We knew what they were going to do and at some point they’re going to hit shots,” he said. “The message was, ‘We’re fine, we have control, just don’t let that aggressiveness make us turn the ball over. Take care of the ball, take open shots when they’re there and we’ll be fine.’ ”
The intensity in the gym was thick as the clock ticked down. Down by nine, Robbinsville started fouling to stop the clock with just over one minute left. They reached the five-foul mark and sent Andrews to the free throw line as the Knights tried to hang on.
With the clock mere seconds away from Andrews clinching the conference title, the fans began loudly chanting the name of their soon-to-be conference champions, “Wildcats!”
Once the game-ending buzzer rang through the Hayesville gym, Andrews celebrated. After shaking hands with their opponents, the Wildcats were awarded the conference championship trophy and a poster with the completed bracket.
Four years ago, many players on the varsity SMC-winning team were on the Andrews Middle School basketball team that won the middle school conference title.
Clark shared what the full-circle moment meant to him.
“As we were walking off the floor, my mind was in that Murphy gym where we won it … To come together this season, to face the adversity we have and then win against a stinkin’ good Robbinsville team, it’s just awesome,” he said.
“I love each one of those guys. We’ve played together since we were 8 years old until now, when we’re 18. It’s peaceful. We did what we needed to do, we worked hard and we won. We proved ourselves right because we’ve been saying all season that if we can put these things together and do the little things right, then we’ll win and that’s what happened tonight. It’s a magnificent feeling.”
After the game, Wildcats head coach Matt Maennle said getting the win against Robbinsville to secure the conference championship was “emotional.”
“It’s hard to win a conference tournament when you’re having to play the best of the best … These kids deserve this. We’ve battled adversity from early January, taking team’s best shots,” he said.
“Big thanks to leadership by our kids. … I’m so thankful for these kids, and the work that we as a team and out coaches have put in has showed. It’s beautiful.”
Maennle also talked about how much it meant to win to win the conference championship alongside his dad and assistant coach, Frank Maennle.
“That’s my best friend and my hero. I’m doing what I’m doing because I want to be just like him. That’s my guy and he deserves it, too. He’s been doing this a long time and these are hard to come by,” Matt Maennle said.
“Having him right there beside me these last four years, being a coach through tough times and tough losses, just knowing that you have your dad there. Not many people have a relationship like me and my dad have, and he’s the greatest man in this world. I’m thankful he was with me the whole way.”
Looking ahead to their first-round playoff game, Matt Maennle said, “We’re a confident team right now … We’re just going to keep working and make it last as long as possible.”
He added that they’re going to keep doing what they have been doing because, “Why change up what we’re doing because of who we’re playing?”
Defeating Cherokee
To get to the championship game, the Wildcats defeated Cherokee on Feb. 18, the team they lost to twice during the regular season.
It started close as Andrews took a slim lead over the Braves. The Cats led 15-11 after the first quarter. Despite a big lead early, Cherokee brought it close heading into the second quarter.
That’s when the Wildcats began to pull away. They built a big lead early, but then Cherokee brought it within three points. Only minutes later, the Wildcats built a 10-point lead on a Logan Shuler 3-pointer. The Wildcats went into halftime with a 42-28 lead.
The Cats kept doing what they were doing in the third quarter and, just under four minutes in, they had built a 20-point lead on 3-pointer by Gabe Clark three-pointer, who was on a hot streak from beyond the arc.
The Cats were up by 17 points entering the fourth quarter. The Wildcats got back to a 20-point lead just over halfway through the quarter when Ty Clark made a layup.
With 1:47 left, Andrews sat most of their starters. As they jogged off the court, they received a loud applause from the fans.
The Wildcats went on to defeat Cherokee 74-53 to advance to the championship game.
They were led by Gabe Clark with 25 points. Clark had seven total 3-pointers, six of them coming in the first half. Kegan Ellis had 20 points with 16 points in the second half. Ty Clark was also in double digits with 16 points en route to a trip to the championship game.