Hiwassee Dam – As Ty Laney’s half-court heave came up short, those left in The Nest could finally exhale.
For Murphy supporters, it was a sigh for a valiant comeback that came up just short. For Hiwassee Dam, it was jubilation. An ecstatic student section chanted “HD!” with team members spilling onto the court, then waving their arms to pump up the crowd.
Minutes earlier, that scene was unthinkable. The Eagles (4-2) led by 22 points early in the fourth quarter and looked to be cruising to its second victory in four days over a Cherokee County foe. However, the Bulldogs mounted a furious rally that came up just short, with Hiwassee Dam coming out on top 70-69.
With the Eagles beating the Wildcats at home on Dec. 7, Hiwassee Dam has home wins over both Andrews and Murphy in the same season for the first time since 2017-18.
“It means a lot for our community and for our kids,” Hiwassee Dam head coach Mark Raper said. “We’re kind of the cardiac kids. They don’t make nothing easy on me.”
Against Andrews, the Eagles jumped out to a 30-15 lead before letting the Wildcats take the lead in the third quarter and gutting out a 54-49 win late. Against the Bulldogs (1-2), Hiwassee Dam led the whole way until the final minutes.
Murphy junior point guard Dillian Brown went to the bench with his third foul just three minutes and 15 seconds into the game, depriving the Bulldogs of their best offensive player. Eagles big man Sam Bradford missed part of the first quarter with foul trouble as well, but returned in the second quarter and helped get Hiwassee Dam to a 35-27 halftime lead.
The Eagles started to separate in the third quarter, going on a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 53-34 lead. The lead grew to 61-39 early in the fourth quarter after two free throws from Preston Hyde and a layup when he caught Murphy’s defense napping on the possession following the free throw.
The Bulldogs started to hit shots and get to the foul line in the early part of the fourth quarter, then chipped away at the lead until they thought a comeback was possible. After Bradford split a pair of free throws to put Hiwassee Dam up 66-50 with 4:08 left, Murphy went on a 13-0 run to cut the lead to three. The Bulldogs turned up the intensity on defense, hit foul shots and made the hustle plays necessary to get to the precipice of an unlikely comeback.
“All I ask of them is to continue to play, continue to chip away at the score and give themselves a chance to be in a position to win at the end,” Murphy head coach Erik Laney said. “This team did exactly that.”
Brown’s layup with under a minute left cut the Eagles lead to 67-66, and Hyde bricked two free throws, gave Murphy a chance to take the lead. The Bulldogs missed two close shots, and Jonathan Raper hit two free throws to extend Hiwassee Dam’s lead back to three.
Bradford split a pair on the Eagles’ next possession to push the lead to four, only for Brown to be fouled shooting a three-pointer and go perfect at the line to cut the lead back to one. Raper would miss two more free throws before Ty Laney’s desperation shot fell short.
Winning hasn’t been pretty for Hiwassee Dam so far this season, with its four wins coming by a combined 13 points. In its last two games though, that was enough to get county bragging rights.
“I told them in the locker room it don’t matter if you win by 20 or 1,” coach Raper said. “We’ll take it.”
The Eagles traveled to Hayesville on Monday, results of which were not available until after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. They host Blue Ridge Early College for homecoming on Friday, with the boys game tipping off at 6 p.m. and followed by the girls game.