Hiwassee Dam – The Hiwassee Dam boys varsity basketball team secured the Little Smoky Mountain Conference touranment with a win over Highlands.
After earning the No. 1 seed, the Eagles defeated Blue Ridge Early College and Highlands to win the title.
Hiwassee Dam hosted the tournament and the home team earned big wins to secure the title.
The Eagles went undefeated in the regular season against conference opponents and added two more wins in the tournament to head into the playoffs unbeaten by LSMC teams.
Boys beat Bobcats
The Eagles defeated Blue Ridge Early College 72-32 in the first round of the LSMC tournament on Feb. 17.
The Bobcats earned their spot in the tournament by defeating Summit Charter in the play-in round on Feb. 13.
The Eagles took a big lead in the first quarter after scoring 28 points and holding the Bobcats to 11.
They held the Bobcats to 11 points again in the second quarter as the Eagles added 20 points. The Eagles led 48-22 at halftime.
With 18 more points in the third quarter, the Eagles led 66-28. With the large lead, the entire fourth quarter was running clock.
The Eagles again outscored the Bobcats in the fourth quarter as they secured the 72-32 victory to advance in the tournament.
Eagles secure title
Despite a late push from Highlands, the Eagles defeated the Highlanders 62-55 to win the LSMC tournament on Thursday night.
The Eagles got off to a hot start in the opening quarter with 16 points as they held Highlands to only four points.
They added 22 points in the second quarter for the Eagles to lead 38-14 at halftime. It was a dominant first half for the Eagles, but Highlands wasn’t going out easy.
Highlands battled back in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 16-6. The Eagles took a 44-30 lead to the fourth quarter with Highlands gaining momentum.
Despite Highlands scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter, the Eagles hung on to win the game 62-55 to win the LSMC tournament.
Jonah Dockery led the Eagles with 22 points. Jimmy Kelly was also in double digits with 18 points.
Up next
The Eagles got the No. 9 seed in 1A West in the state playoffs. In their first round matchup, they faced No. 24 Rosman at home on Tuesday.
They faced Rosman during the regular season and won 68-39 at home on Dec. 12, 2025.
The game was after the press time and coverage of the game will be in the March 4 edition of the Cherokee Scout.