Hayesville – The Murphy boys basketball defeated Hayesville 44-41 on Friday in their closest win of the season.
Friday night’s game kicked off with high intensity from both teams and the crowd. In the back-and-forth first period, there were multiple lead changes, with one team taking the lead then the other quickly tying the game back up.
The second period saw similar action with another back-and-forth effort. Murphy had a few missed opportunities that led Hayesville to taking a 22-18 lead at halftime.
Murphy regained the lead in the third quarter to head into the final quarter up by two points. Murphy had strong defense, which helped preserve their lead.
Center Dominick Rummler had most of his 13 rebounds in the second half. Rummler also had a big dunk early in the fourth quarter, which saw a shift in energy that was in Murphy’s favor. In the final minutes, Ryan Payne made two free throws to give Murphy the three-point lead that they held onto to get the win.
Rummler led the team in points with 22 and 13 rebounds. Xander Wachacha had 13 points and two steals, while Will Joiner also had two steals and nine rebounds. Wachacha and Ryan Payne had two assists each.
With the win, Murphy is on a four-game win streak. The Bulldogs have a 7-2 conference record and are 12-5 overall. On Friday, Murphy will travel to Swain County to take on the Maroon Devils at 8 p.m.