Hiwassee Dam – It was a winning week for the varsity basketball teams in Hiwassee Dam as they defeated Blue Ridge Early College on Friday night. Earlier in the week, the boys varsity team also defeated conference rivals Nantahala on the road.
Boys varsity
The Eagles started their week with a Little Smoky Mountain Conference matchup as they traveled to Nantahala to take on the Hawks.
In a close conference battle, the Eagles won 76-63 on Jan. 28. It was close from the start, but the Eagles pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
It was a high scoring opening quarter from both teams as the Eagles got a slim 24-22 lead thanks to 12 points from Aidan Bennett and eight points from Jonah Dockery.
Nantahala pulled ahead with 15 points in the second quarter to lead 37-33 at halftime.
The Eagles roared back to reclaim the lead in the third quarter with 22 points. They led by one point heading into the final quarter.
With the momentum of a comeback, the Eagles shut down Nantahala in the fourth period with 21 points and only allowed the Hawks to score nine as they cruised to victory.
Bennett led the team with 36 points. 22 of his 36 points came in the second half. Dockery was also in double digits with 18 points.
Cole McCoy led Nantahala with 35 points. Landon Neal was also in double digits for the Hawks with 10 points.
To close out the week, the Eagles hosted LSMC opponent Blue Ridge Early College on Friday night.
The Eagles got out to a huge first quarter lead and never looked back. In their 55-18 lead, they didn’t allow the Bobcats to score more than six points in a quarter.
They went on a huge run to build a 14-2 lead when the Bobcats called a timeout with 2:49 left. After scoring a basket early, the Bobcats didn’t score again until the final minute of the quarter as the Eagles led 21-4 after the first.
In the second quarter, the Eagles continued to score at will. Hiwassee Dam played strong defense as Dalton Kester had multiple blocks and steals that had Eagles fans loudly cheering. They went into halftime leading 41-10.
A few minutes into the third quarter, the Eagles took a 40-point lead. With the 40-point lead in the second half, the game switched to running clock for the remainder of the game. As the third quarter came to an end, the Eagles began sitting their starters so that everyone could get in the game.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles sat all their starters and possessed the ball well to run out the clock and secure the 55-18 win.
Bennett and Dockery were both in double digit points for the second time last week. Dockery had 15 points and Bennett had 13 Friday night. Luke Harbin had seven points, all coming on free throws in the second and third quarters.
Lady Eagles
The girls varsity team had a one-game week where they hosted Blue Ridge Early College for a LSMC matchup.
The Lady Eagles got their first conference win of the season as they defeated the Lady Bobcats by 63 points.
To start the game, the Lady Eagles went on a 6-0 run in the first 1:25 of the game when the Lady Bobcats called a timeout. They ended the quarter leading 21-11 as they were scoring and making it look easy.
They continued to easily score in the second quarter. Brooklyn Hyde made a free throw just under halfway through the quarter to give the Lady Eagles a 20-point lead. The Lady Eagles took a timeout with 57.7 seconds left leading 42-19. Before the half, they added on six more points to lead by 29 at halftime.
Brinkley Payne made a layup through traffic in the paint to give the Lady Eagles a 40-point lead, which meant the remainder of the game would be a running clock.
Just before time expired in the third quarter, Abby Harris got a steal that turned into a fast break down the court and made the layup to give the Lady Eagles a 75-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
They added on 13 more points in the fourth quarter to easily defeat the Lady Bobcats on Friday night for their first LSMC win of the season.
Kinley Stiles and Sarah Stock saw playing time in the second half despite having minor injuries.
Olivia McNabb led the team with 21 points. She made nine of 11 free throws with all of them in the first half. Payne and Hyde both had 19 points. Harris was also in double digits with 14 points. Every Lady Eagle got on the scoresheet Friday night.
At press time, the boys are 3-0 in the LSMC and the girls are 1-1.
Up next
The Eagles will have a tough week of conference games and rivalry matchups coming up.
They will head to Murphy to take on the Bulldogs on Thursday. The girls start at 6:30 p.m. and the boys will play at. 8 p.m.
On Friday, they will host Nantahala and Summit Charter as they celebrate Senior Night. The girls will play Summit Charter at 6 p.m. and the boys will play Nantahala at 7:30 p.m.
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, they will travel to take on Blue Ridge Early College in Cashiers.