Andrews – Despite only starting practice two weeks ago, things have been going smoothly for the Andrews boys’ basketball team.
The Wildcats have dispatched each of their first five opponents by at least 18 points, including a 64-39 win against Hiwassee Dam on Dec. 6 as well as a 66-35 win and 85-32 win against Highlands and Nantahala on Dec. 8 and 9.
“They’re fun to be around,” head coach Matt Maennle said after the win over the Eagles. “Practices are fun. It’s a fun group, simple as that. Football was fun, the crowd’s been great to start the season these first two home games. It’s been a good start and it’s fun to be around the kids.”
After returning all but one player from the roster last season and adding three new players, Andrews had a good place to start. Maennle said most of the X’s and O’s are already in place, so it’s been a lot of focusing on the little things so far, like getting better execution of what they’re trying to run.
“Taking care of the basketball, the correct calls on defense, matchups,” Maennle said. “It’s just a lot of little things that’s got to become better that’s going to help the big scheme of things.”
Against Hiwassee Dam, Andrews jumped out to an 11-0 lead before the Eagles narrowed it to 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. Maennle said he probably didn’t keep enough scorers in the game when he started going to his bench, allowing Hiwassee Dam to hang around. But the Wildcats continued to play and slowly but surely built the lead.
They stayed relentless throughout, using a nice balance of patience and attacking mentality on the offensive end while fighting for second chance points. On defense, they never let Hiwassee Dam get into a flow, making them try to create one-on-one opportunities instead of executing its offensive system.
Five quick points at the start of the second quarter pushed the lead out to 19-12. After the two teams traded shots, the start of a 16-0 run pushed the lead to 38-24 at halftime, then 47-24 about midway through the third quarter. The last bucket of the run was a Rattler layup, and typical of the effort Andrews displayed all night, as it came after multiple offensive rebounds.
The Eagles never had an answer for Rattler, who scored a game-high 25 points and struggled to contain 6-foot-5 junior Tyler West, who finished with nine points. Rattler was the team’s leading scorer through three games, followed by West and Bateman.
“Tyler’s been special to start the season,” Maennle said. “That’s a huge body to have, especially in this conference. He’s very agile, he’s very smart and knows what he’s doing and he knows his body well. Donovan (Bateman)’s been special too. He’s been great for us ever since the first game of football. He’s been special. Cam is incredible right now and he’s doing a great job for us.”
Bateman, Rattler and West have been shouldering most of the offensive load early on, though there’s plenty of other players capable of contributing when needed in sophomores Ty Clark and Kegan Ellis and seniors Austin and Drew Martin and Cole Anderson. All-conference wing Isaac Weaver is still out with a knee injury he suffered in the final game of the football season, but should be back soon.
However, Andrews should have enough to keep the season on track before Weaver returns, though the competition took a step up last night in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference opener against Swain County. They continue conference play Friday at Cherokee.
“The guys did whatever they’re asked to do, whatever they’re coached to do,” Maennle said. “And that’s what I love about this group.”