Fall to Robbinsville 70-51; Payne, Harger drop double digits
Robbinsville – In the Murphy varsity basketball team’s season opener, the Bulldogs lost to Robbinsville 70-51.
Murphy was the last team in the Smoky Mountain Conference to start basketball season because of making it to the Elite 8 in football. The Dogs, along with Eastern Randolph and Mount Airy, are the final three boys teams in 1A West to start their seasons.
The Dogs got out to a one-point lead in the first quarter Friday night courtesy of five points from Tyler Payne and a 3-pointer from Aaron Harger.
Robbinsville added 19 points in the second quarter to take a 30-26 lead into halftime. Robbinsville continued to lead the close game through the third quarter, taking a 48-42 lead into the fourth.
In the fourth quarter, the Black Knights exploded for 22 points – and held the Dogs to only nine – points to get the win.
Tyler Payne led the team with 14 points, two steals and five rebounds Friday. Cale Harger had 13 points and eight rebounds. Brady Golden and Conner Golden both have seven points each. Abram Twiggs had five points, two steals and five rebounds.
The Dogs will host 3A-leading Franklin at 8 p.m. Thursday for their home opener. They will then travel to Hiwassee Dam to take on the Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Friday. On Monday, they will hit the road to take on Franklin again.