Andrews – As was the case in the previous two matchups between Andrews and Swain County, the Wildcats fell into an early hole before working their way back in the second half. That led to a 61-50 win at Andrews on Dec. 13, and a 51-46 loss in Bryson City on Jan. 24.
When they met again In the first round of the Big Smoky Mountain Conference tournament, the Wildcats once again came up short, missing two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of a 51-48 loss Friday night.
“It just took us a while to get going,” Andrews head coach Matt Maennle said. “They were the aggressors early, and it just hurt us. We had to fight back again like we had all year against them.”
The pressure of the Maroon Devils (12-12 overall) again caused problems for the Wildcats (14-11). It wasn’t as bad as the previous matchup in Bryson City, where Swain County led 25-11 at halftime, but the Maroon Devils still led 20-9 after the first quarter and 24-19 at halftime.
“The guys that are calm and take care of the ball against the press aren’t always my best scorers,” Maennle said. “So that hurts us once we do break it. We don’t have the guys who can score the basketball on the court.”
Andrews would rally and started to get in a groove in the later minutes of the third quarter. After Swain County led 34-25 with 4:25 to go in that quarter, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run.
However, the Maroon Devils Josh Collins hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the quarter to increase the lead back out to five. A Nathan Bogdanowicz layup pushed the lead back out to seven to start the fourth.
Both of those shots came off of offensive rebounds, which helped make the difference for Swain in the fourth quarter. Andrews continued to fight, with Cam Rattler’s two free throws with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter putting the Wildcats in front for the first time all night, 44-43. Rattler would hit two more big shots down the stretch, putting Andrews up 46-45 and then 48-47.
The Maroon Devils had one last answer. After Reese Winchester missed a layup, Aiden Southards came down with the rebound and scored to put Swain in front for good.
“Cameron was huge at times making some shots and rebounds,” Maennle said. “Regardless we gave up way too many offensive rebounds late and that was a difference maker.”
After a convincing 63-43 win over Hayesville on Feb. 7, Andrews was hoping to keep the momentum going into the conference tournament in its home gym and potentially a home playoff game with another win or two. Instead, the Wildcats will have to wait a week to see where they travel to continue their season.
“We’re not done,” Maennle said. “And I hope those seniors understand that and want to keep playing and want to try to shock some people and make a run.”