Boys defeat Cherokee on the road, fall to Hayesville in tight home game
Murphy varsity basketball that split their games last week, with the boys defeating Cherokee on the road and the Lady Dogs beating Hayesville at home.
Boys varsity
The Bulldogs started their week with a big win over Cherokee on Jan. 21. It was a close game, but the Dogs were able to pull away to bring home a 72-61 win.
On Friday, they returned home and fell to Hayesville 62-54 in a close, hard-fought game.
Both teams came out scoring in bunches, as the game was tied at 18 at the end of the first quarter. Hayesville pulled away and took a 30-23 lead to halftime.
Coming out of halftime, Hayesville continued to pull away and led 47-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dogs fought back to make it a four-point game halfway through the final frame. The Dogs fought for a loose ball that would have led to a fast break, but the referee unfortunately got in the way.
With two minutes left, Abram Twiggs made a gritty layup in the paint to make it a two-point game. The shots were not falling after that for Murphy, and Hayesville pulled away again for the win.
Tyler Payne led the Dogs with 16 points, while Twiggs was also in double digits with 10. Every Dog who played got onto the scoresheet.
Lady Dogs
The girls varsity team started their week with a trip to take on one of the top teams in the state, Cherokee. The Lady Braves were coming off of their second loss of the season to Winston-Salem Christian National, but the Lady Braves did what they usually do and scored lots of points.
The Lady Dogs lost 82-20 to the Lady Braves. They returned home Friday and snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Hayesville 47-37 to hand them their second conference loss.
Hayesville took an early lead, but the teams kept it close as Hayesville led 11-7 after the first quarter. In the second, the Lady Dogs battled back for the 19-18 lead and maintained it at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Lady Dogs extended their lead past 10 points. The crowd loudly cheered with every shot that they drained. Emma Hensley made a huge block on defense, and the student section erupted with cheers.
They had an 11-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. With well-executed plays, the Lady Dogs maintained their lead throughout the fourth quarter for the win.
Kennedy White led the team with 12 points. Julia Dockery scored seven points, while Cayla Geer, Ilie Smith and Hensley all had six points each.
Up next
The Dogs will play two Smoky Mountain Conference opponents, starting with Swain County on Friday at home, with the girls starting at 6:30 p.m. and the boys playing at 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, they will travel to Andrews to take on their in-county rivals, the Wildcats. The girls start at 6:30 p.m., while the boys play at 8 p.m.
The Dogs will take on the Wildcats twice in February.