BASKETBALL
Hawks fall in round 1
Both the Nantahala varsity boys and girls basketball teams clinched the playoffs, but both squads fell in the first round on Feb. 24.
The boys were the No. 18 seed in 1A West, while the girls were the No. 23 seed. Both teams played on the road in the first round.
The boys traveled to Concord to face No. 15 seed Carolina International. The Hawks fell 66-50.
The girls traveled to Cashiers and faced a familiar Little Smoky Mountain Conference opponent – Summit Charter.
The Lady Hawks fell 74-18 to the No. 10-seeded Lady Bears.
BASEBALL
Dogs open with a loss
The Murphy varsity baseball team started the season Friday with a trip to Towns County, Ga., to face the Indians.
After the Dogs scored four runs in the top of the first inning, the Indians went on to score 14 runs across five innings to win the game 14-4.
Cameron Clem hit a home run to drive in three runs early in the game. Their fourth run was scored by Peyton Bain.
The Dogs will play their home opener at 4:30 p.m. today, when they host Union County, Ga., before kicking off conference play next week.
POKER
Record cash in Cherokee
The World Series of Poker returned to Cherokee for its most recent tournament stop and awarded $9.7 million from Feb. 12-23.
The largest payout was to tournament rookie Maxwell Guo of Alpharetta, Ga., won who the main event and secured $386,231.
Guo outlasted a record 1,824-entry field. The large turnout generated a $2.7 million prize pool and surpassed the $2 million guarantee that ended with Guo winning the gold ring and more than $300,000.
Also earning a six-figure payday was Richard Seymour, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots.
The former defensive lineman has poker records dating back to 2014, but the win was his first major title.
High school schedule
Today
Baseball
Murphy vs. Union County, Ga., 4:30 p.m.
Softball
Murphy @ Franklin, 5 p.m.
Thursday
Baseball
Andrews @ Cherokee (double header), first game at 4 p.m.
Softball
Andrews vs. Copper Basin, Tenn., 4 p.m.
Girls soccer
Murphy vs. Smoky Mountain, 5 p.m.
Friday
Baseball
Andrews @ North Georgia Tribe, Dawsonville, Ga., 3:30 p.m.
Track & field
Meet @ Western Carolina University, 3 p.m.
Compiled by Sports Editor Cannon Crompton. Email items to sports@cherokeescout.com.