Murphy – It didn’t matter how Murphy boys basketball was playing Friday night. Playing up tempo. Working to find their post players down low. Looking to get more shots from the perimeter.
Whatever they were doing, Hiwassee Dam had little answer for. After falling twice to the Eagles by a combined three points in the two matchups between Murphy and Hiwassee Dam last year, the Bulldogs started fast in this game and never let up in a 77-49 rout.
“We got a lot of plays we like to run,” senior guard Dillian Brown said. “But when we find a weakness when a team can’t guard us, fast wise. Or if a team can’t guard our bigs, we feed the bigs. It’s just whatever the game plan is, coach (Erik) Laney’s good at that.”
Though it was a little more chaos than control at times, Murphy set the tempo from the beginning. The Bulldogs led 24-8 after the first quarter, scoring in a variety of ways. Dominick Rummler and Zack Skogen both got some touches down low, and the 6-foot, 4-inch Skogen knocked down two 3’s in the opening frame. Brown got in on the action with a three-point play as part of an eight-point opening quarter, and Murphy got two second-chance layups.
“We’re a fast team,” Brown said. “That’s how we like to play.”
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Bulldogs (2-2 overall), with Brown leading the way with a game-high 18 points and Skogen just behind with 17. Will Carringer and Cale Harger also scored in double figures with 12 and 11, with Harger taking advantage of the five-quarter rule to play in both the junior varsity and varsity games.
For Hiwassee Dam (2-4), Clay Davis led the way with 17 points, while Preston Hyde added 16 and Leo Hickson had 11. The rest of the Eagles combined for just five points. It was a rough week for the Eagles, as they also fell to Cherokee County foe Andrews, 64-39.
They played Blue Ridge in their Little Smoky Mountain Conference opener Tuesday and travel to Highlands on Friday night.
Any time Hiwassee Dam tried to settle in, Murphy would respond with a quick run. The Eagles cut the lead to 12 late in the second quarter, only for the Bulldogs to lead by 15 at halftime. Then they cut it to 12 again in the third quarter, before a 15-2 Murphy run pushed the lead out to 59-34.
Both of the Bulldogs’ wins this year have come against Little Smoky Mountain Conference competition, though it was likely tougher last night at defending state champion Hayesville. The Yellow Jackets are without stalwarts Kolbe Ashe and Jake McTaggart, though they return all the role players from last year’s undefeated state champions.
Murphy returns to the court Friday at Robbinsville for a game between two teams that could compete for the Big Smoky Mountain Conference championship. The Bulldogs, Black Knights and Andrews all returned a lot from last year and, along with Hayesville, have a legitimate shot at a conference championship.