Hiwassee Dam – After winning the Little Smoky Mountain Conference, the Hiwassee Dam boys varsity basketball team hosted East Wilkes in the first round of the state 1A playoffs.
The Eagles earned home court advantage after winning the conference, but the No. 11 seed Eagles fell to No. 22 seed East Wilkes 101-59 on Feb. 25.
East Wilkes opened with a 4-0 run in the opening two minutes of the game. They then proceeded to build a large lead, but the Eagles fought back in the final minute of the opening quarter to take the 21-16 lead. Dalton Kester picked up a lot of rebounds for the Eagles as they started a comeback.
In the second quarter, East Wilkes regained the lead just under three minutes in, but the Eagles got the lead back a minute later. After going back and forth, East Wilkes pulled ahead and took a 42-34 lead into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, East Wilkes exploded for 32 points in the third quarter. East Wilkes started the quarter with seven straight points before the Eagles called a timeout 48 seconds into the third quarter. A few minutes later, the Eagles called another timeout, as they remained scoreless and East Wilkes continued to extend their lead.
The Eagles struggled to make shots against the tough defense of East Wilkes. A buzzer-beating shot gave East Wilkes a 25-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
East Wilkes only continued to extend its lead through the final eight minutes of the game. With 3:13 remaining, East Wilkes took a 40-point lead, which meant the remainder of the game was running clock.
In the final minute, East Wilkes cracked the 100-point mark. They are the second Cherokee County team this season to be in a game where either team scored 100 points.
Three Eagles finished scoring in double digits in their first-round game. Aidan Bennett led the team with 15 points. Kester had 14 points, 11 coming in the first half. Jonah Dockery had 10 points to round out the Eagles in double digits, while Jimmy Kelley had eight points and was the only Eagle to make a 3-pointer.
The Eagles finished the season with an overall record of 14-12 and were Little Smoky Mountain Conference champions for a second straight season.