Murphy – In a game the Bulldogs boys basketball team needed to win, they knew they couldn’t let Robbinsville find a way back in. The Black Knights have made a living in close games this year, including a 5-0 mark in overtime.
However, after opening up a 10-point lead by the end of the third quarter, Murphy shut the door on the team at the top of the conference standings. Robbinsville got as close as eight points, but the Bulldogs went pedal to the metal until the very end, with Zach Skogen’s dunk at the buzzer finishing off a 74-56 win.
“We haven’t been able to execute a couple of our close games.” Skogen said. “We made sure to lock in and finish the game.”
The win over the Black Knights on Thursday followed a similar script to Murphy’s 53-44 win over Hayesville two days earlier, even if the both games flowed differently. Against the Yellow Jackets, Skogen and Dillian Brown were on the bench with foul trouble in the first half, and the Bulldogs’ struggling offense ground to a halt as Hayesville led 20-15 at halftime.
Murphy (11-8 overall, 4-3 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) was able to get into a rhythm and take a 31-24 lead before the Yellow Jackets (10-7, 3-3) cut it to 31-28 heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter saw 20 combined fouls, but the Bulldogs did enough against Hayesville’s press defense, and made enough plays down the stretch, to come away with their first win over the Yellow Jackets since the 2018-19 season.
Similar to Hayesville, Robbinsville (14-5, 5-2) had a slight halftime edge at 27-23, playing with more discipline and taking advantage of Brown and 6-feet, 6-inch big man Dominick Rummler picking up two fouls. But once Murphy was able to push the tempo of the game, the Bulldogs took off.
A 13-0 run in the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 43-30 lead, with Brown, Skogen and Cole Laney knocking down 3-pointers. The outside shooting allowed Skogen and Rummler to continue to go to work time and time again, and they eventually imposed their will on the game like they did against Hayesville.
Rummler had 15 points, while Skogen had 11 against the Yellow Jackets. It was Skogen with 24 points and Rummler with 11 against the Black Knights.
“Words cannot explain it helps to have Zach and Dom in the game,” Brown said. “Because they get most of the boards, and then they just give it to us and let us do the work. They just post up, and it’s easy money for them.”
A 3-pointer by Brock Adams cut Murphy’s lead to 10 going into the final frame, and four straight points from Xander Wachacha trimmed the lead to 45-37 with 6:52 remaining. A three-point play by Rummler pushed the lead back out to double digits, where it stayed the rest of the game.
The Black Knights would get it back to 11 with another 3-pointer from Adams, but Murphy continued to attack their press and come away with some big baskets. Skogen hit back-to-back 3’s, then Brown had a fast-break layup to push the lead to 59-41 with about four minutes left.
Entering last night’s home against Swain County, the Bulldogs have won nine of 12 since a 2-5 start. A win over Franklin at Battle of the States helped show the team their potential, and they have stepped their game up since.
There’s a chance to turn a strong season finish into a scorching hot one, but there’s no easy games in the conference this year. Still, Murphy knows they’re a different team today than they were at the beginning of the year and wants to build on that.
“Battle of the States was when we started coming back finally,” Brown said. “I think we’ve gotten a lot better since then. We just continue to get better every day.”