Hiwassee Dam – In the Eagles four wins heading into Friday’s game against Blue Ridge Early College, they didn’t make anything easy, winning by a total of 13 points.
Against the Bobcats in its Little Smoky Mountain Conference opener, Hiwassee Dam finally had an easy win. The Eagles jumped on Blue Ridge Early coasting past the Wildcats 69-27 in the first game of a Homecoming Doubleheader at The Nest.
“Anytime you have Homecoming and stuff like that, it’s hard to get focused,” head coach Mark Raper said. “Just happy to play, play hard and get a win.”
Despite some of the potential Homecoming distractions, it didn’t show in the opening minutes. Hiwassee Dam (5-3 overall, 1-0 Little Smoky Mountain Conference) overwhelmed an overmatched Blue Ridge (2-8, 0-2) team, jumping out to a 29-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bobcats had no answer for Sam Bradford, who scored a game-high 29 points and could have easily had more if not from some liberal subbing by Raper throughout the game.
Bradford had 17 points in the opening frame, including 12 of the Eagles first 14 points. After sticking with the bench for the beginning of the second quarter, Bradford entered about midway through the frame and went to work again. He got two second chance layups, then another easy basket from close range before halftime. Hiwassee Dam led 46-17 at halftime.
While Bradford continued to be the Eagles engine, like he has all season, 12 other Hiwassee Dam players scored against Blue Ridge. No other player scored more than nine points. Clay Davis and Jonah Hamby, who usually play on the junior varsity team but played with the varsity because Blue Ridge doesn’t have a JV team, scored their first varsity points.
“You’ve got a lot of kids that give you reps in practice and don’t see the floor a whole lot,” Raper said. “When you can give those kids reps and rewards those kids for their hard work, it makes them feel good and it makes their teammates feel good.”
A layup by Seth Hooper with 4:12 remaining in the third quarter put a running clock in play, and Hiwassee Dam put the finishing touches on an easy victory from there. It was a nice bounce back win for the Eagles, who lost at Hayesville 81-41 on Dec. 13.
“Anytime you can get a home conference win, it don’t matter what the score is,” Raper said. “It just makes you play better and feel better throughout.”
Hiwassee Dam returned to the court Monday against Highlands, the results of which were not available until after this edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press