Murphy – It was a tough week for Murphy boys basketball, as the Bulldogs played three games and came up short in all three.
Murphy lost at Hayesville 69-66 in overtime on Dec. 13, 48-33 at Robbinsville on Friday and then 58-49 to Union County, Ga., the next day. The Bulldogs are 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference.
To open Smoky Mountain Conference play, Murphy traveled to the defending state champion Yellow Jackets, falling short in a tight game. Leading scorer Dillian Brown fouled out in the fourth quarter, and the Bulldogs couldn’t do enough to pick up the win.
Brown scored 21 points in the loss, with Dominck Rummler pouring in a team-high 22. Hayesville lost its two senior stalwarts from its undefeated state championship team last year, but still returned 10 of the 12 players from that team.
Three days later in Graham County was a low-scoring affair, because of the tempo, the defense being played and because neither team could get settled on offense. That led to a 11-7 Murphy lead at the end of the first quarter and a 21-16 Bulldogs lead at halftime. With big men Zack Skogen and Rummler both on the bench in foul trouble for most of the second quarter, Dozer Mashburn stepped up to score Murphy’s last six points of the quarter.
Donovan Carpenter blew by the Bulldogs’ defense for two layups to start the third quarter, which was the only scoring for nearly four minutes until free throws by Skogen pushed Murphy’s lead out to 23-20 with 4:08 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Bulldogs struggled to score, and had little answer for the Black Knights Brock Adams and Xander Wachacha. Adams would finish with a game-high 19 and Wachacha 15, while Murphy had nobody in double figures.
The duo would combine to score the next 12 points for Robbinsville, with Wachacha’s 3-pointer giving the Black Knights a 27-25 lead late in the third
quarter.
Robbinsville would not trail again, and made enough effort plays early in the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs away. Two straight second-chance layups by Bo Rattler and Bryce Adams put the Black Knights on top 36-29.
Skogen gave Murphy one last shot with two free throws that cut the lead to five with 3:44 left before coming up with a steal. The ensuing possession came up empty, and Robbinsville closed the game on a 12-2 run, with Wachacha’s 3-point play that extended the lead to 10 with 2:32 left basically being the dagger.
The conference games were similar to most of Murphy’s losses last year, where they were in the game but couldn’t figure out how to make the necessary plays late in the game.
The contest against the Panthers was different than when the two teams met in Blairsville back on Dec. 6. In that one Murphy led at halftime before Union County hit another gear late. In this one, the Panthers never trailed.
The Bulldogs didn’t find an answer for Union County’s 1-3-1 trap in the first half, struggling to make the right pass and get the ball in the post to use their size advantage down low. It also didn’t help that Rummler and fellow post player Hunter Carson were on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half. The Panthers led 30-18 at halftime, which could’ve been closer if Murphy shot better than two for six from the foul line in the second quarter.
A quick 7-0 run cut the Union County lead to 31-25 early in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs could never get any closer. Anytime Murphy started to creep back in, the Panthers would answer
right back. After that run, Union County never led by any less than six points but never by more than 13. Skogen paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 19 points, while Brown was the other Murphy player in double figures with 13.
The Bulldogs continued conference play Tuesday night at Swain County, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. They return to the court Wednesday, Dec. 28, for the annual Battle of the States Tournament at Towns County High School in Hiawassee, Ga.