Murphy – After Zach Skogen and Dominick Rummler combined to score 59 points in an 82-75 loss to Cherokee on Jan. 20, Rummler said he expected Cherokee to pack the paint in the reamtrch on Feb. 2.
The Bulldogs’ guard would have to knock down shots from three to open up the post. While Murphy did come out hot with three of its first five made field goals being 3-pointers, the inside was open, too, from the start.
So when an undermanned Braves squad continued to hang around after the Bulldogs opened up a 15-point third-quarter lead, Murphy had its post players attack the basket again and again. Skogen (24 points) and Rummler (22) scored 19 of the Bulldogs fourth quarter points, powering the home team past the Braves, 82-77, for their sixth straight win.
“Toward the end of the game, they started passing the ball inside, and we just had a hot touch,” Rummler said. “We just felt comfortable.”
Murphy (15-8 overall, 7-3 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) came into the game with an advantage inside, and it only got bigger with Cherokee (12-12, 4-6) starters Kaden and Luke Smith unable to play. The Braves made up for their lack of size by being physical defensively and not letting Skogen or Rummler get comfortable early.
But Murphy hit six 3-pointers in the first half, and Rummler started to get going. With about 20 seconds left in the second quarter, Dillian Brown pushed the ball up court, and found Rummler for an alley-oop dunk, giving the Bulldogs a 41-32 halftime lead.
“We just had to play our own ball,” Rummler said. “They really wanted to get us uncomfortable. We thought if we just fell back into how we played, we’d be able to keep up with them.”
As Murphy continued to attack inside, its lead grew to 56-41. It felt like the Bulldogs were ready to run away with the game, only for Cherokee to find a second wind. The game was played at the Braves’ preferred quick tempo, and they hit shots throughout the second half. A three-point play by Savian Davis cut Murphy’s lead to 61-56 heading into the final frame.
The Braves got as close as four in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, but had no answer to stop Murphy inside. Despite playing with four fouls, Skogen came alive, scoring 13 straight points for the Bulldogs down the stretch. His three-point play with 2:23 left put Murphy in front 79-70, and it looked like the Bulldogs could exhale.
Cherokee kept battling, and cut the lead to 79-75 after Jack Teesateskie split a pair of free throws for one of his game-high 25 points with 29.8 seconds left. The Braves kept possession because of a Bulldogs technical foul, and Michael Driver was called for a travel while attempting a step-back three. From there. Skogen hit two free throws and Rummler split a pair to close out the win.
Murphy was hoping to split a share of the conference regular season title with a win and Robbinsville loss to Swain County, but the Black Knights dusted the Maroon Devils 69-47 to take the outright title. That means the Bulldogs can only be seeded as high as No. 13 if they win the conference tournament, but should have a first round home playoff game if they beat Swain County in the conference tournament semifinals after press time Tuesday.
Still, the Bulldogs enter the conference tournament winners of 13 of their last 16 games, including a 5-0 mark in the second half of conference play. But due to the competitiveness in the conference this year, they know they can’t look too far ahead.
“We feel like at the beginning of the season, we were definitely on the bottom of people’s list,” Rummler said. “And we just kind of want to prove them wrong. We don’t want to place us anywhere – and we know that any time, any night, any team in the conference can beat us.”