Murphy – To start this season, Murphy boys basketball is in an unfortunate pattern. The Bulldogs have been competitive in all but one of their eight games so far this year. That hasn’t translated to wins yet.
After beating Tellico Plains, Tenn., on Dec. 19 to snap a three-game skid, Murphy suffered three close losses on three straight days last week. First was a 66-64 loss to Walker Valley, Tenn., then a 68-64 loss to Robbinsville and finally a 79-71 loss at Cherokee.
“We have struggled in these first few weeks to get in the win column,” Bulldogs head coach Erik Laney said. “Our team has been in five close games, each with an opportunity to win all of them at any given moment.”
Against Walker Valley, Murphy (2-6 overall, 0-3 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) led 38-33 at halftime and 47-45 at the end of the third quarter before the Mustangs (10-2) pulled out the win.
The next day against the Black Knights, the Bulldogs came out hot. They hit five threes in the first quarter and jumped out to a 23-18 lead at the end of the opening frame. As Murphy cooled off, Robbinsville (3-4, 1-1) kept the game competitive and took its first lead at 29-26 on a Xander Wachacha three early in the second quarter. The Bulldogs played too fast on offense at times as well, sometimes rushing shots or making passes in lanes that weren’t there. Still, they continued to battle and led 34-30 at halftime
Murphy led for nearly the entire third quarter, pushing the lead to seven early in the period on a basket by Cole Laney, But Robbinsville continued to hang around, and Brock Adams split a pair of free throws to put the Black Knights ahead 52-51 with 7:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The final frame featured four lead changes and two ties, with neither team leading by more than four points. A three-point play by Adams put Robbinsville ahead 64-61 with 1:47 left, and Dillian Brown answered back with a three to tie the game.
Donovan Carpenter hit one of two free throws to put the Black Knights back in front with 25.7 seconds remaining, then Zack Skogen was called for a moving screen on Murphy’s next possession. Robbinsville was able to finish off the game, and the Bulldogs suffered their fourth loss by four points or less this season.
In the first half against Cherokee (6-3, 2-0), it looked like the Bulldogs were tiring from their third game in as many days. The Braves used their speed and physicality to open up a 20-point first half lead, though Murphy was able to cut the Cherokee lead by 14 at halftime.
The Bulldogs went to a 2-3 zone look to try to throw Cherokee off at the beginning of the first half, though the Braves put an end to that by knocking down three 3-pointers in the quarter. The Braves still led by 14 with 3:05 to go in the quarter before Murphy made its push. The Bulldogs started to look inside, and cut the lead to five by the start of the fourth quarter.
Buckets by Dominick Rummler and Hunter Laney cut the lead to one at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Two threes by Cameron Sampson pushed Cherokee’s lead back out to five, and another three by Chunky Reid extended the Braves lead to eight, effectively putting the game away for Cherokee.
“Our message to our kids is that the possession of the game you are currently in is the most important possession of the game,” Laney said.
“You have to get one more stop, one more defensive rebound, or one more score. We have to play with that mindset in the first 30 minutes so we don’t have to fight so hard in the last two minutes.”
After a holiday break, Murphy will play in the Battle of States Tournament at Towns County (Ga.) High School. It will be a time to recharge after playing five games in six days, and another opportunity to try to break through in close games.
“It has been a difficult grind early in the season but it will be worth the effort and adversity as we get to the peak of our season.” Laney said. “I have been pleased to watch our basketball IQ increase every game.”