Hiwassee Dam – The Eagles hosted Blue Ridge Early College in the regular-season finale on Feb. 13, and both teams picked up a win to celebrate Senior Night.
Hiwassee Dam started the game with a back-and-forth first quarter, with the Eagles in the lead for most of it. In the second quarter, they began to pull away and maintain a larger lead. They missed a few chances in the paint, but the Eagles took a 35-23 lead into halftime.
As the Eagles took advantage of errors made by Blue Ridge, they had a string of quick points to start the third quarter. They maintained that and were able to close the quarter with another run of offense where they scored each trip down the court, while playing strong defense on the other end to take a 22-point lead to the final quarter.
As the clock ran down, the Eagles rested most of their starters. Everyone in The Nest cheered as each senior exited the game.
As emotions calmed down, the Eagles were able to pull away and be in control of the game. Hiwassee Dam closed out the regular season with a 75-39 win over Blue Ridge.
The Eagles had four players, all seniors, in double figures, with Jonah Hamby leading the way with 24 points. Kyle Taylor picked up 15 points, and Clay Davis and Dawson Headley both had 12.
Eagles head coach Mark Raper mentioned the emotions of senior night and how they played on Feb. 13.
“We started off a little slow, which being senior night, emotions are kind of high. But they finally calmed down and kind of pulled away, which I thought we would if we played our game,” he said.
Raper added that the seniors stood out in the game.
“Tonight is senior night, so it’s all about them. I’ve had Clay, Jonah, Dawson and Kyle for four years. I’ve had them in school since they were 5 or 6-years-old. It’s thrilling, but it’s heartbreaking too when you see them graduate,” he said.
With the Little Smoky Conference tournament starting this week, Raper said, “First off, we have to find out who we are going to play, but I’m going to give them [Wednesday] off, and Thursday and Friday we’ll practice hard. We’ll just get better at what we’re doing.”
They ended their regular season with an 8-15 overall record, 6-0 in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.
Lady Eagles
The Lady Eagles wrapped up their regular season with a 76-27 win over Blue Ridge. With the win, they had a perfect record in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.
They started the game with an 8-0 run of offense before Blue Ridge could get its first points. The Lady Eagles then scored 10 more points before Blue Ridge scored again, ending the first quarter leading 23-8.
In the second quarter, the Lady Eagles picked up multiple rebounds that resulted in getting points off of fast breaks. They also converted on multiple steals to increase their lead. Blue Ridge was able to pick up on a few late giveaways, but the Lady Eagles still took a 46-17 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Eagles did more of the same. Blue Ridge upped its defense around the basket, but still could not stop Hiwassee Dam from scoring 22 points in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Lady Eagles rested some of their starters so everyone could get playing time.
The Lady Eagles got the 76-27 win, their largest margin of victory this season.
Lady Eagles head coach David Payne said his team “played with pretty good intensity.”
“We defensively stayed after them pretty well, we kept a lot of pressure on them, so I thought overall we did a pretty good job,” he said. “Just trying to maintain and not have ups and downs, so I was pleased with it.”
Payne talked about the preparation for this week’s conference tournament.
“The biggest thing we have to do is, we’ll have a week off, so try to rest up and try to come back in and work hard and get ready to go next week to go to Blue Ridge,” he said. “It’s tough to travel and have them step up and play, so that will be a challenge. I feel like we’ve prepared all year for this time of year, so hopefully we’re ready to go.”
Payne said Hiwassee Dam had a good team effort against Blue Ridge.
“I just looked at the scorebook and we had four people in double figures with 16 points or more, so we spread it around pretty good,” he said. “We scored some from the perimeter and scored some inside, so we did a good job sharing the ball and getting a good team win.”
The four players Payne mentioned were Brooklyn Hyde, Olivia McNabb, Katie McNabb and Brinkley Payne.
Hyde led the way with 22 points. She took advantage of fouls and went 5-5 on free throws. Brinkley Payne, Olivia McNabb and Katie McNabb all had 16 points. For Blue Ridge, Brooklyn Kenney was the only player in double figures with 12 points.
With the regular-season finale victory, the Lady Eagles finished with an overall record of 19-4 and a perfect 6-0 in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.
Senior Night
In between the girls and boys games, Hiwassee Dam celebrated Senior Night by honoring seven basketball players and a cheerleader.
The seniors on the boys team are Kyle Taylor, Clay Davis, Dawson Headley, Jonah Hamby and Cameron Dills. The seniors on the girls team are Katie McNabb and Shelby Kester. The senior cheerleader is Madison Shorette.