Murphy – After getting a first-round bye, the No. 2 seeded Murphy boys varsity basketball team’s season came to an end Saturday.
The Bulldogs defeated Albemarle at home in the second round, then fell to Elkin for their season to come to an end in the state 2A playoffs.
Dog eat Dog
In a matchup of Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs, Murphy came out on top, defeating Albemarle at home 71-50 on Thursday night to advance to the third round.
The Dogs had a strong opening quarter as they dropped 22 points and only allowed Albemarle to score eight. They followed it up with a 15-point second quarter.
Albemarle battled back to stay in the game. The Dogs led 37-20 at halftime.
Murphy had a nine-point third quarter, with Albemarle continuing to fight to close the gap. The Dogs remained ahead 46-33 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dogs pulled away in the fourth game with a huge fourth quarter. In their 25-point fourth quarter, seven different Murphy players contributed points.
Against Albemarle, Abram Twiggs led the team with 21 points. Cale Harger had 19 points, while Elijah Twiggs added 11.
Boys fall to Elkin
In a shocking upset, the No. 2 Bulldogs fell to No. 10 Elkin in the third round of the playoffs Saturday. Despite a strong effort at a late comeback, the Dogs lost 62-53 as their season came to an end.
The Dogs took an early lead with 12 points in the opening quarter as they led 12-10 after one. Elkin pulled ahead in the second period with 14 points to lead 24-19 at halftime.
They continued to lead coming out of halftime as they outscored Murphy 23-15 in the third quarter to lead 47-34. With their season on the line, the Bulldogs put up 19 points in the fourth quarter to try and mount a late comeback. It was unfortunately too late, as Elkin scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to win.
Abram Twiggs led the Dogs with 17 points. Also in double digits were Tyler Payne with 15 points and Harger with 14 points.
The Bulldogs ended the season with a 22-4 overall record. The loss to Elkin was only their second loss of 2026 and snapped an 11-game winning streak.