The Murphy varsity basketball teams split their week as they fell to Robbinsville, but then defeated Swain County to get back on track.
Boys varsity
The Dogs started their week with a tough loss at home to Robbinsville. The Black Knights came to Murphy on Jan. 28 and defeated the Dogs 60-55.
Robbinsville started the game with a three-pointer and the Dogs immediately responded with a driving layup from Ryan Payne. The Dogs then claimed an early lead on a three-pointer. The game was back and forth early in the first quarter, but the Dogs took hold of the lead and began to pull ahead. The Dogs led 16-10 through the first quarter.
In the second, it was more back and forth basketball. As they went back and forth, Ryan Payne made a three-pointer to give the Dogs the lead. As he sank the shot, the student section erupted with excitement. After multiple lead changes, the Knights ended the first half with a 37-32 lead.
The Knights began to pull away in the second half. 1:30 into the third quarter, they claimed a 10-point lead. Murphy fought back, but the Knight maintained their lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Just over halfway through the fourth period, Cale Harger made a three-point shot to make it a two-point game and the student section went wild as the Dogs were getting close to a lead. That lead never came though as the Knights kept the Dogs at distance despite multiple rallies to try and win the game.
Despite fighting hard throughout the game, the Dogs fell 60-55 to the Black Knights of Robbinsville.
Cale Harger led the Dogs with 17 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Two other Dogs were in double digit points as Brady Golden had 13 points and Tyler Payne had 10.
To close out their week, they hosted Swain County for their second Smoky Mountain Conference matchup of the week.
The Dogs picked up their second conference win by defeated Swain 75-39. They successfully bounced back from their loss earlier in the week by getting one back.
The Dogs had four players in double digits led by Connor Golden with 14 points. Abram Twiggs had 13 points, Ryan Payne had 12 and Cale Harger had 11. Twiggs also had nine rebounds and nine assists.
Lady Bulldogs
Despite claiming an early lead over Robbinsville on Jan. 28, the Lady Dogs fell 54-27.
The Lady Dogs had a strong opening quarter with 15 points to claim an early five-point lead. In the second quarter, Robbinsville claimed the lead from the Lady Dogs and it stayed that way for the rest of the game. After leading by five at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Dogs went into halftime trailing by five.
The Lady Knights had a big third quarter with 21 points to make a 19 point lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Dogs went scoreless in the fourth period to lose to the Lady Knights 54-27.
Cayla Geer led the Lady Dogs with nine points. Kennedy White and Emma Laney both had six points.
The Lady Dogs ended their week with a SMC matchup against Swain County.
Swain got out to an early three-point lead in the first quarter, but the Dogs battled back in the second quarter to take a 19-17 lead to halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Lady Dogs exploded for 17 points in the third quarter to extend their lead. Despite being outscored 16-11 in the fourth quarter, the Lady Dogs had built a large enough lead and secured the 47-40 victory.
Up Next
The Dogs will play their final non-conference game against in-county rivals Hiwassee Dam on Thursday at home. The girls start at 6:30 p.m. and the boys will play at 8 p.m.
On Friday they will host Cherokee with the girls starting at 6:30 p.m. and the boys playing at 8 p.m.
On Monday, the Dogs will kick off their final week of the regular season by traveling to Swain County.