Bryson City – The Andrews boys basketball team took over during the round-robin Swain County Christmas Tournament last week.
Matt Maennle’s Wildcats (9-1) issued warnings for all comers by defeating the only 3A opponent in the tournament, North Buncombe (5-5), 81-70 in the opening game. The Cats followed that up with a 56-46 win over Madison (3-6) the next day.
Cam Rattler got started early against North Buncombe, pouring in 12 points in the first quarter en route to a 32-point performance for the game. He also added 15 rebounds, three assists and a steal to lead all Andrews scorers.
Andrews led most of the first half of that game before falling behind right before halftime 37-33. The Blackhawks’ comeback was fueled by their perimeter shooting, as 3-point land accounted for almost half of their first-half points.
Rattler over the boards in the second half, and although the Hawks were still shooting 3’s, they were getting very few second shots. Ty Clark helped Andrews’ comeback by pouring in 16 of his 18 points in the second half, while Gabe Clark added 7 of his 12 points overall to round out the Cats in double figures.
Rattler picked up where he left off in the Cats’ second win over Madison (3-6) on day two of the tournament, scoring 21 points to lead Andrews to a 56-48 win.
Andrews built a 34-21 lead at the half. The Cats had to hold off a second-half run led by Madison’s Gavin Gault’s three 3-pointers, but Andrews held on to win 56-46. Ty Clark was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 12 points.
The Lady Wildcats (5-3) would only get one game in the tournament because North Buncombe girls did not participate this year. The Lady Wildcats lost 57-43 to Madison (4-6).
The Lady Cats kept things close in the first quarter with Madison, as the Lady Cats only trailed 14-12. But the Lady Patriots outscored the Lady Cats 14-9 in the second quarter to build a 28-21 halftime lead and never trailed again.
Kylie Donaldson led the Lady Cats in scoring with 12 from the floor and four more from the charity stripe for a total of 16 points. She was the only scorer in double figures for Andrews.