Murphy ends week with conference win over Devils
Murphy – It was a winning week for the Murphy varsity basketball teams, as the Bulldogs took down Highlands and Swain County.
The Dogs hosted Highlands, where the girls won a close game and the boys dominated the Highlanders. They then returned home to wrap up the week with Smoky Mountain Conference action, where they sweep the Maroon Devils.
Dogs dominate at home
In a strong performance, Murphy defeated Highlands 73-35 on Jan. 14. It wasn’t long before the Dogs took full control of the game, as they scored 24 points in the opening quarter while holding Highlands to only seven.
The Dogs extended their lead in the second quarter as they remained in control. Murphy took a 44-16 lead into halftime.
Late in the third quarter, the Dogs took a 35-point lead, and the remainder of the game was played with a running clock. With a 64-24 lead, they headed to the fourth quarter.
The clock counted down in the fourth quarter as the Dogs secured the victory. Cale Harger led Murphy with 22 points, while Abram Twiggs added 14.
Girls outlast Highlands
It was a close game from start to finish, but the Lady Bulldogs got it done with a 37-33 win over Highlands.
The game got off to a slow start on Jan. 14, but late in the first quarter the Lady Dogs began to pull away. Murphy took a 11-6 lead to the second quarter.
Play remained close in the second quarter, but Highlands took the lead and pulled away late. Kennedy White hit a 3-pointer to tie the game in the final seconds to send them into halftime tied at 17.
The teams continued to go back and forth throughout the third quarter. The Lady Dogs took the lead, but Highlands began to close the gap in the final minute. The Lady Dogs maintained their lead to head to the fourth quarter up 28-25.
Both teams continued to battle in the fourth quarter as Murphy held a one-point lead late in the game. The Lady Dogs held the ball and passed it around to take some time off the clock.
Highlands started to foul and got its fifth team foul, sending Murphy’s Charlie Stalcup to the free throw line with 11 seconds left. She made her first free throw to give the Dogs a 35-33 lead, then missed the second shot.
Highlands inbounded the ball with 6.9 seconds left and Ellie McClure intercepted the ball. McClure was then fouled with 4.7 seconds left and went to the free-throw line.
She made both shots to give the Dogs a 37-33 lead, securing the win.
McClure led the Dogs with nine points, while Emma Laney and Emma Hensley scored eight points each. White and Stalcup had six points.
Boys win big
After a close start, the Dogs dominated the second half en route to a 95-54 win over Swain County. It was tight early in the game Friday, as the two conference opponents faced off in Murphy.
The Dogs took a slim 15-13 lead to the second quarter. With 26 points in the second quarter, the Dogs took a 41-28 lead to halftime.
In the third quarter, the Dogs pulled away with 26 more points to lead 67-41 heading to the fourth quarter. The Dogs had their highest-scoring quarter in the fourth, when they dropped 28 points to secure another big win.
Four Dogs were in double digits, led by Tyler Payne with 28 points. Also in double digits were Twiggs with 15, Grayson Hall with 12 and Nathan Skogen with 11.
Girls down Devils
The Lady Dogs secured a conference win to wrap up the week as they took down Swain County 54-43 on Friday night. Murphy took an early lead as Emma Laney had five points as the Dogs led 10-8 through the first quarter.
The Lady Dogs dropped 19 points in the second quarter led by Ilie Smith’s six points and Amelia Joyner’s five. Their 19-point quarter helped them extend the lead to 29-22 at halftime.
Despite being outscored in the third quarter by Swain, Murphy maintained a 41-35 lead heading into the final quarter. With nine points in the fourth quarter, Emma Hensley helped lead the Dogs to their 54-43 victory.
Smith, Hensley and Laney led the Dogs with nine-point performances Friday.
Up next
Murphy will kick off back-to-back road games Thursday, when the Dogs travel to Robbinsville.
The girls will play at 6:30 p.m., with the boys playing right after.
The Dogs will then travel to Cherokee on Friday to play the Braves.
The girls will start at 6:30 p.m., and the boys will playing directly after.
They will then play back-to-back games against Rosman.
On Monday, they will face Rosman at home, then Murphy will travel to Rosman on Tuesday.
For both games, the girls will play at 6 p.m., with the boys playing right after.