Murphy – The Murphy Bulldogs had a tough early season test when they took on Franklin, who is highly ranked in 3A West.
On Thursday night, the Dogs hosted Franklin. At tip off, the Franklin boys team was ranked No. 6 in 3A West and the girls team was ranked No. 5 in 3A West, according to MaxPreps ranking on the N.C. High School Athletic Association website.
Lady Dogs fall 57-47
The Murphy girls varsity team were up first to take on the Franklin Lady Jaguars on Thursday night.
In their fourth game of the season, they fell to the highly ranked Lady Jaguars. In the opening minutes of the game, Franklin built a 7-2 lead. The Lady Dogs full-court pressed early on and played good defense to bring the game within two points.
Cayla Geer knocked down a three-pointer to give the Lady Dogs a one-point lead halfway through the first quarter. Franklin then got the lead back and made consecutive three-pointers, which prompted a timeout by Murphy.
Julia Dockery made a three in the final seconds of the first quarter to end the quarter trailing by two points.
25 seconds into the second quarter, the Lady Dogs tied it up, but then Franklin drove the ball down and regained the lead. About halfway through the quarter, Franklin took a 10-point lead on multiple threes and points in the paint. The Lady Dogs scored multiple points late to bring the game within five heading into halftime.
Franklin came out of halftime leading 35-30 and continued to extend their lead with 10 points in the third quarter, but the Lady Dogs were only a step behind.
The Lady Dogs stayed within reach heading into the fourth quarter on good defense and rebounds from Emma Hensley. Franklin took a six-point lead into the fourth quarter.
A little under halfway through the fourth quarter, Franklin extended their lead to eight points by making crucial shots and defending hard. With 4.7 seconds left, Murphy drained a three-pointer to make it a 10-point game where it stayed as the final buzzer rang.
Dockery led the Lady Dogs with 19 points, with 11 of those in the second quarter. Hensley was the only other Lady Dog in double digit points with 11, with six of those coming in their nine-point third quarter. Geer and Marley Blackwell had six points each on two three-pointers a piece.
Dogs fall 76-49
The Dogs were up next to take on the tall task of Franklin, who have a familiar player of their team. The Jaguars have starter Jack Teesateskie, who previously played at Cherokee.
The Dogs held their own in the first half against Franklin, in the second half the Jaguars showed their experience.
Murphy grabbed an early one-point lead thanks to points in the paint and a big block from Abram Twiggs. In the first two minutes of the game, the Dogs increased their lead to four points. Halfway through the first quarter, they built a seven-point lead. In the final minutes of the first quarter, Franklin scored points with force to bring it within one as the Dogs led 17-16.
In the second quarter, Franklin took the lead within the first minute and then extended it. The Dogs brought it within one-point, but then Franklin extend their lead again. Franklin continued to score late in the second quarter to take a 37-29 lead to halftime.
Coming out of the half, Franklin showed their experience as they had played three more games than the Dogs coming into Thursday’s matchups.
Franklin put up 23 points in the third quarter for their second straight quarter with more than 20 points. They also held the Dogs to six points coming out of halftime.
Murphy started the fourth quarter by putting points on the board to cut into Franklin’s lead. Franklin got to a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter when a timeout was called. Then with 2:11 left in the game, Franklin took out their starts so their bench players could get into the game.
The Dogs put up 14 points in the fourth quarter, but lost 76-49.
Two Bulldogs were in double digit points as Tyler Payne had 16 and Brady Golden had 11. Of Payne’s 16 points, nine of them came in the opening quarter. Twiggs went a perfect 2/2 from the charity stripe and added a two-point field goal to have four points on the night. Cale Harger and his brother Aaron both had six points.
Both Murphy teams will take on Towns County, Ga. on Friday in the Battle of the States tournament.