It was a busy week for the Murphy varsity basketball teams, which included the first round of the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament. Both Bulldogs’ teams found success last week, advancing to the second round following wins Saturday.
Boys varsity
The Dogs traveled to Swain County to kick off the final week of the regular season, bringing home a 87-62 win.
Murphy came barreling out of the gate with a massive 32-point first quarter to build a big lead. Connor Golden dropped four 3-pointers in the first quarter, while Cale Harger had two to account for 18 of their 32 first-quarter points.
The Dogs followed it up with 17 more points in the second quarter to lead 49-25 at halftime. Harger continued scoring with five more for 11 first-half points, while Golden added another 3-pointer in the second quarter to have 15 points in the first half.
Coming out of halftime, the Dogs had another high-scoring quarter with 21 points in the third quarter. Seven Bulldogs contributed to their high-scoring third quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Dogs led 70-40. Despite being outscored 22-17 in the fourth quarter, the Dogs had built a sizable lead to win the game 87-62.
The Dogs were led by Cale Harger with 19 points. Connor Golden had 18 points to round out the Dogs in double digits against Swain. All 10 of the Bulldogs contributed to reaching the 87-point total by scoring at least two points, with most scoring six or more.
On Feb. 11, the Dogs hit the road again for their final regular season road game when they headed to Hayesville. In their second matchup of the season, the Dogs fell to the Yellow Jackets 58-53.
To close out s busy week, the Dogs took on Hayesville again in the first round of conference tournament. In an almost opposite score of their meeting early in the week, the Dogs won 59-54 to advance to the second round.
In the second round, Murphy took on Robbinsville on Feb. 18. Results will be in the Feb. 26 edition of the Cherokee Scout.
Girls varsity
The Lady Bulldogs started their week with a nine-point victory over Swain County. They hit the road and came home with a win on Feb. 10.
Murphy had a huge 21-point opening quarter to take a big league into the second quarter. Both teams scored nine points in the second for the Lady Dogs to lead 30-17 at halftime.
The Lady Maroon Devils outscored Murphy 13-8 in the third quarter, but the Lady Dogs still maintained a 38-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Murphy put out the fire of a potential comeback and secured the win with 10 points in the final frame.
On Feb. 11, the Lady Dogs played their final regular season away game as they traveled to Hayesville, falling 49-35. With their loss to Hayesville and subsequent loss to Andrews on Thursday, the Lady Dogs are the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament.
In the first round, they took on Robbinsville on Saturday. The Dogs got the win 46-44 to defeat the Lady Black Knights for the first time this season.
The Lady Dogs started with a strong first quarter, scoring 14 points to lead by eight heading. In the second quarter, both teams scored 10 points for the Lady Dogs to take a 24-16 lead into halftime.
Despite being outscored in the third and fourth quarters, the Lady Dogs held on to advance in the conference tournament.
On Feb. 18, the Lady Dogs faced the reigning 1A state champions and top-seeded Cherokee in the second round. Results will be in the Feb. 26 edition of the Cherokee Scout.