Bryson City – Just three days earlier, Murphy boys basketball had a chance to steal a game at Robbinsville.
Trailing by one with 53 seconds left, the Bulldogs let the Black Knights drain 40 seconds off the clock before a layup sealed the win for Robbinsville. With another chance on Friday night at Swain County, Murphy did not miss their shot.
With the Maroon Devils leading 71-70, Donnavin Groenewold hit his first free throw, then missed his second. Ty Laney came down with the rebound, then passed across the lane to his brother Cole, who fired a bullet pass to Dillian Brown, just beyond the outstretched hands of Isaiah Collins on the left sideline near midcourt.
Brown took a few dribbles and pulled up for a three-pointer. The shot banked in off the glass.
When the game was final, the Bulldogs swarmed Brown, mobbing him in a dog-pile just past midcourt. Murphy finally had its signature win, taking down the second place team in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference, 73-72. Murphy also took down Blue Ridge, 72-20, on Feb. 2.
“This team is a mentally tough group of kids,” head coach Erik Laney said. “They will always fight until the end, and this game things went our way. I am extremely proud of these young men.”
On Swain’s senior night, the Bulldogs (10-12 overall, 3-6 conference) continued to hang tough after a scorching start from the Maroon Devils (15-8, 5-4). Swain hit four threes and made Murphy’s life difficult with full-court press, leading 20-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs, though, settled down, breaking the press to get two threes from Dozer Mashburn to start the second quarter and get into the flow of the game. Mashburn’s threes set the tone for the rest of the night, as Murphy hit a season-high 12 triples to stay close. That hot three-point shooting kept
the Bulldogs in striking distance, as the Maroon Devils never let Murphy go on a run.
Cole Laney started the second half with a three to cut the Swain County lead to one, and the Maroon Devils answered with a 13-5 run to push the lead up to 47-38. From that point, Swain County led by four points or more until the final minute.
After Carter Kirkland hit one of two free throws to give the Maroon Devils a 71-65 lead with 27.1 seconds left, Laney drained a three to cut the lead in half. Then after a Swain turnover on the inbounds play, a layup by Hunter Laney cut the lead to one. Groenewold was fouled, and his one for two mark from the foul line, set up Brown’s heroics.
“We have had some close games this year where we failed to come out on top,” Laney said. “This was a good win for our kids.”
Murphy hosted Andrews on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. Up next is the Big Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament, where the Bulldogs could be anywhere from the No. 4 to No. 6 seed.