Murphy – The Bulldogs boys basketball team dropped two road games last week, as they first fell to Robbinsville 68-53 and then to Swain 51-44.
On Jan. 30, Robbinsville jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind the shooting of Darion Ledbetter, but the Dogs came storming back with under three minutes left in the quarter. The Dogs were trailing 9-3 when Cale Harger hit three 3-pointers and Xander Wachacha made three more points to end the first period leading 12-9.
Murphy (12-7) built an eight-point lead midway through the second quarter, but the Black Knights came storming back, outscoring the Bulldogs 10-3 down the stretch to only trail 23-22 at halftime. Bryce Adams led the Black Knights’ comeback with nine of the Knights 13 second-quarter points. Hager added five more to his total in the second for 11 points in the first half.
Robbinsville (13-4) exploded for 27 points in the third quarter, while they held the Dogs to only 10. Kenyon Swimmer led the Knights’ attack with nine points off of four field goals and a free throw.
Murphy could only manage 10 third-period points, and Robbinsville finished with a 17-point run to lead the Dogs 49-33. The Bulldogs made a run at the knights as they closed Robbinsville’s lead to 11 in the fourth period, but Robbinsville outscored the Dogs in the final four minutes 15-12.
Cale Harger led the Dogs with 17 points, while Harger shot 43 percent from three-point range and was 63 percent from the floor. Wachacha was the only other Dog in double figures with 13 points. Ryan Payne nailed three shots from 3-point range.
Murphy traveled to Swain (15-5) for the second part of their road trip Friday and fell to the Maroon Devils 51-44.
Murphy only had one player in double figures, with Harger finishing with 12 points, while Ryan Payne and Rummler added eight apiece. Glaspie led Swain with 19 points.
The Bulldogs head to Highlands today to take on the Highlanders before heading to Cherokee on Friday to take on the Braves.
On the girls side, the Lady Bulldogs’ road trip was also not kind, as they fell to Robbinsville 51-46 and Swain 55-46.
The Lady Bulldogs (2-13) stayed close with the Lady Black Knights (12-5) during the first quarter on Jan. 30. Neither team was setting any scoring records in the first period, as both teams only scored 11 points combined, with Robbinsville ended up with a 6-5 lead at the end of one.
Murphy was trying to live outside the 3-point arc, but their shots weren’t falling and they weren’t getting the rebounds after the shots. The Lady Dogs were 2-7 from beyond the arc in the second period and only 3-10 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Lady Dogs were also losing the rebound battle, as Robbinsville had 17 offensive rebounds to Murphy’s five.
Murphy closed the lead with less than a minute to go via a 3-pointer from Cayla Greer with 10 seconds left in the third period. They made a run in the fourth quarter and closed the lead to eight points with 5:23 left in the game behind a free throw, 3-pointer by Saige Kent and two free throws.
Murphy closed the deficit to two points several times in the final minutes, but Robbinsville went 12-14 at the free-throw line to net the final 51-46.
The Lady Dogs couldn’t get past that 46-point mark as they fell to Swain County 55-46 Friday.
Murphy was still trying to live on the perimeter, but only went 3-7. The girls basketball team will hit the road again this week, as the Bulldogs take on Highlands today and then Cherokee on Friday.