Hiwassee Dam – The first time the Eagles met Highlands on Dec. 20, Hiwassee Dam didn’t play up to its potential but still came away with a 73-67 win.
When the two teams met again on Feb. 8 with the Little Smoky Mountain Conference championship on the line, the Eagles left no doubt, coming away with a 70-45 win.
“The kids played really well,” head coach Mark Raper said.
“Any time you win a conference championship, it’s big. And when you win it on an opponent’s home floor, that’s big for us.”
Hiwassee Dam got off to a fast start, scoring the first eight points and pushing the lead to double digits early in the second quarter. The Eagles led by more than 10 points for the rest of the game.
The Highlanders had no answer for senior Sam Bradford inside and Preston Hyde had an excellent shooting night, hitting six three-pointers. Hiwassee Dam led 32-19 at halftime, and a 15-0 run to start the third quarter put the game away.
It’s the Eagles third straight conference championship. They have gone undefeated in conference play each of the last two seasons.
With the conference championship wrapped up, Hiwassee Dam hosted Robbinsville for Senior Night, but the Black Knights (11-11) came away with a 63-51 win. It was a back-and-forth first half, and the Eagles (12-8 overall, 4-0 conference) led 35-30 at halftime.
Bradford did his usual work inside, while Hyde, Tanner Taylor and Jonathan Raper hit shots from outside to keep the Robbinsville defense honest. That changed in the second half, when Hiwassee Dam struggled offensively and had no answer for the Black Knights’ athleticism.
Robbinsville opened the half on a 12-0 run before a Kolby Stiles’ steal and score gave the Eagles some signs of life. They forced a second straight turnover thanks a full-court press, but Preston Hyde missed a three-pointer that would have cut the lead to two.
The Black Knights would lead by five or more the rest of the way, leading by double digits for almost the entire fourth quarter. They got in the bonus early in the frame, making it that much harder for Hiwassee Dam to rally.
Bradford finished with a team-high 21 points, while Hyde added 11.
“We just went stone cold in the second half,” Raper said. “I think we scored (16) points in the half, and you can’t beat anybody scoring (16) points in a half.”
The Eagles will return to the court Thursday at The Nest for the Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament championship, With Nantahala not having a boys team this year, the Eagles received a bye into the championship game.
“We’re tickled to death to get our conference tournament here because we didn’t have it last year,” Raper
said.