Cashiers – Hiwassee Dam swept the Little Smoky Mountain Conference to earn three championship trophies Thursday.
The boys varsity team went undefeated in conference play to win the Little Smoky Mountain Conference on Thursday night, when they defeated Highlands 58-40.
The Eagles jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Hiwassee Dam ended the first half leading 32-18. They then added 14 points to their lead in the third quarter. They capped off their victory with a 12-point fourth quarter en route to becoming Little Smoky Mountain Conference champions.
The Eagles were led by senior Clay Davis, who scored 25 points. Jonah Hamby and Aiden Bennett were also in double-digit figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. For Highlands, Landon Green was their only player in double-digit points with 18.
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The Lady Eagles followed suit by also going undefeated in their conference games to become Little Smoky Mountain Conference champions when they defeated Highlands 51-49 on Thursday.
The championship game started with a close first period that ended tied at 13. The second period remained close, and Highlands took a one-point lead to halftime.
Highlands took advantage of their lead and had their highest-scoring period with 15 points in the third to take a 39-33 lead into the fourth. With the lead, they looked to capture the championship, but the Lady Eagles had other ideas. Hiwassee Dam had a strong final frame and dropped 18 points to secure the conference crown.
Olivia McNabb led the team with 30 points, making 16 free throws en route to having a 30-point game. Brinkley Payne was the only other Lady Eagles’ player in double figures with 11 points. Highlands was led by Aislynn Wyatt-Luck with 13 points.
To complete the sweep, the Eagles JV boys team also defeated Highlands 42-13 to become conference champions. In the first game of the championship day, the JV boys team from Hiwassee Dam got the ball rolling.
They came out swinging and scored 15 points in the first quarter, while only letting Highlands score three points. The Eagles’ JV boys maintained that momentum with good offense and strong defense. The Eagles took a 26-4 lead to halftime after only allowing one point to be scored and dropping 11 points.
They kicked off the second half by scoring 12 points and yet again only allowed Highlands to score one point, which gave them a 38-5 lead heading into the final quarter. This big lead let them cruise to victory and earn the first of three conference championships that Hiwassee Dam picked up Thursday.
The Eagles were led by Jimmy Kelley who had 19 points, while Avery Taylor had nine points. Travis Allen scored six points, including all four of the Eagles’ fourth-quarter points.
Hiwassee Dam looks ahead to the state tournament, which began after the Cherokee Scout’s press time Tuesday. In the first round of the state playoffs, the boys varsity will host Mountain Island Charter (10-13), while the varsity girls will host Mitchell (10-15).