Bryson City – Hiwassee Dam boys basketball head coach Mark Raper feels like he knows what he has with this year’s team.
The Eagles have four capable scorers, but sometimes struggle to find the balance between playing as a group and playing as individuals. On defense, they lack strength down low and struggle rebounding at times. Still, when things are clicking, Hiwassee Dam is generally competitive.
Over three days at the Maroon Devil Christmas Classic, Raper thinks his team started to figure out how to take advantage of its strengths and grow as a team. After falling to Mitchell 78-70 on the first day of the tournament, the Eagles beat Tuscola 99-91 and Charles D. Owen 80-76 to finish in fifth place.
“We need to play with pace, we need to play with confidence, and we need to play together,” Raper said. “If we do that, we might not win every game, but we’re going to compete in every game.”
Against Mitchell, the Eagles (5-6) went into an early hole and hung around before Mitchell opened up a 12-point lead twice in the third quarter. Hiwassee Dam would come all the way back, with two free throws from Kyle Taylor tying the game with 4:14 left. But the Mountaineers made the game’s final run, getting some good looks to fall and getting others off tenacious offensive rebounding.
“A lot of it is just wanting it,” Raper said of rebounding. “Being a little mean and tough. Maybe we’re just too passive sometimes.”
The next day against Tuscola was an offensive explosion for both sides. Preston Hyde would lead the way with 26 points, while junior point guard Leo Hickson had a career-high 23. Those two would carry the offense against Owen as well, with Hyde finishing with 26 points and Hickson 19. Jonah Hamby also had big games against both Tuscola and the Warhorses, finishing with 18 and 19 points, respectively.
Owen was confident after jumping out to a 25-20 first-quarter lead, but Hiwassee Dam wouldn’t go away and cut the lead to 37-36 at halftime. The Eagles opened the second half on an 18-4 run, only to watch Owen answer back with a 22-2 run of its own to lead 63-56 with just over six minutes left.
Hiwassee Dam responded with a 13-2 run for a 69-65 lead, only for the Warhorses’ Asante Martin to get back-to-back three-point plays for a 71-69 lead with 2:09 left. The Eagles had one last push, with back-to-back layups from Hamby and a shot off the glass from Hyde giving them enough cushion in a tight final minute.
It doesn’t get easier for Hiwassee Dam, whose plays four Big Smoky Mountain Conference teams to open 2023. The hope is the confidence and cohesion the Eagles had this weekend will carry over.
“We’re going to have to hold our own with bigger and more athletic teams,” Raper said. “If they out jump us, they out jump us. But we can’t let them just have it.”