Hiwassee Dam – From the opening tipoff, it was all Murphy as they defeated in-county rivals Hiwassee Dam 67-29.
The Dogs had a 53-point opening half that led to a running clock second half en route to their big win on Jan. 13. Murphy was off to the races from the jump as they were in full control from the start.
They put up big points early, including Abram Twiggs dunking the ball to give the Dogs a 15-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Twiggs’ second dunk of the game gave the Dogs a 21-4 lead just minutes later.
The Dogs scored at will in the opening quarter to build a 33-15 lead heading to the second quarter. Twiggs led the Dogs with 10 points, while Jonah Dockery led the Eagles with five.
Just over a minute into the quarter, Tyler Payne set up an alley-oop to Twiggs for another score as they extended their lead. Twiggs’ third dunk of the night came minutes late as the Dogs fans were roaring.
Hiwassee Dam was held to just two points in the second quarter as Dockery made two free throws. Murphy took a 53-17 to halftime. Since they were ahead by more than 35, the second half of the game was running clock.
Payne led the Dogs in the second quarter with eight points. Twiggs also had six points. Through the running clock third quarter, Murphy continued to lead and played tough defense to hold the Eagles to four points, while scoring seven.
Murphy’s seven points in the third quarter came from Aaron Harger, Ryan Payne and Cale Harger. Hiwassee Dam’s four fourth-quarter points came from Dockery and Jesse Raper.
Despite outscoring the Dogs 8-7 in the fourth quarter, there was no catching Murphy and the huge lead the Dogs built. In Murphy’s seven-point third quarter, Nathan Skogen and Ayden Blanton had three-pointers, while Dorian Taylor had one point from the free-throw line.
Johnson and Dockery contributed to Hiwassee Dam’s eight-point fourth quarter. The Dogs went on to beat their in-county rivals for a second time this season.