Andrews – An already frustrating night for the Murphy boys basketball team in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference tournament final ended on a tense note.
After trailing top seed Robbinsville 26-24 at halftime, the Black Knights opened up a 50-35 lead at the end of the third quarter to effectively put the game away. Trailing 62-52 with three seconds left, Murphy’s Wyatt Simmons missed an open three. Robbinsville’s Bryce Adams came down with the rebound, and Murphy’s Dillian Brown, Ty Laney and Dominick Rummler all made a play on the ball.
Laney was whistled for an intentional foul, and Brown went to help Adams up, which he didn’t like. As Adams was jawing at Brown, Simmons came in and pushed him.
Before Adams could retaliate, Rummler stepped in his way to block him. Players on both sides came charging in to make sure things didn’t escalate, though Simmons had to be separated from Robbinsville’s Donovan Carpenter near mid-court.
When the officials finally decided everything, technical fouls were given to Brown and the Robbinsville bench. Still, it didn’t change the final result.
The skirmish was more the final note on what had already been a disappointing night for Murphy.
Robbinsville’s third-quarter surge, as well as in-your-face defense, gave the Bulldogs fits all night in a 63-52 loss.
“They were pretty intense the whole game. It was hard to get open,” Brown said. “They had pretty good (defense), (but) nothing we can’t handle. They just got us this time.”
The two teams had split the meetings between each other earlier this year, with close first halves leading to second-half surges and wins in their respective home gyms. This game followed a similar trend.
Murphy (16-9 overall) and Robbinsville (21-5) traded baskets early, though the Black Knights opened up a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. After that, the Bulldogs’ last lead of the night came on a Ty Laney layup that put them in front 24-22 late in the second quarter.
Robbinsville did a good job limiting touches inside for Rummler and Zach Skogen, making the Bulldogs hit shots from outside. Brown did that to keep Murphy in the game, knocking down four 3-pointers in the first half.
However, coming out of the locker room, Robbinsville took control of the game. With Brock Adams taking up most of Murphy’s attention, he was able to penetrate or dish to an open teammate.
A 3-pointer by Xander Wachacha for one of his game-high 18 points put the Black Knights up 35-26, forcing Bulldogs head coach Erik Laney to use a timeout. That only temporarily stopped the bleeding, as the Black Knights went on a 9-1 run after the timeout to extend their lead to 44-27.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs couldn’t get going against Robbinsville’s defense, with the Black Knights trapping on the perimeter and double-teaming down low. The Bulldogs closed the lead to 57-50 with about a minute left, but never really put pressure on Robbinsville down the stretch.
Murphy looked to learn from its mistakes Tuesday in the first round of the state playoffs at home against Winston-Salem Prep. This is the program’s first home playoff game since the 2010-11 season.
“It’s big for us,” Brown said. “We love that. We haven’t had one in a while, so we’re pretty excited for it.”