.
Hendersonville – The winter weather cut down on the local high school basketball schedule last week, with only one game being played by Andrews, Hiwassee Dam and Murphy. The rest of the games were cancelled and will be played at another date.
Before that, Andrews (13-2) got to face Blue Ridge Early College (2-10) and came away with another win, beating the Bobcats 75-31 on Jan. 11.
The Wildcats didn’t waste any time getting started, as Cam Rattler poured in 14 first-quarter points. He went 6-for-6 from the field, one from beyond the arch, and added a free throw to give the Wildcats a 26-7 lead at the end of the first period.
The Wildcats went on to outscore the Bobcats in every quarter, as they kept extending their lead even after resting their starters for most of the second half. Every Andrews player contributed to the scoring, with only two players hitting double digits.
Andrews built a 47-17 halftime lead, shooting 53 percent from the field and 88 percent inside the paint. It seemed like everything the Cats were putting up was going in during the first half.
The starters for the most part got to rest from midway through the third period on, but their teammates didn’t give up any ground as they went on to outscore the Bobcats 28-14 in the second half. Among some of those scoring off the bench were Logan Shuler with seven, Everett Tatham with four and Kelly Waldroup with three.
Rattler shot 90 percent from the field and 100 percent from the charity stripe for 23 points, adding 10 rebounds for a double-double. Rattler is averaging almost 16.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Ty Clark had a good night as well as he hit for 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists.
Ethan Henson was the only player from the Bobcats in double figures, as he finished the game with 16 of the team’s 31 points.
With the win, the Wildcats hold second place behind first-place Robbinsville (10-2) in the Smoky Mountain Conference standings. Cherokee (8-6), which has an identical conference record to the Cats, was defeated by Andrews 67-65 on Dec. 15 and comes in at third place.
The Andrews Lady Cats did not play, as Blue Ridge Early College does not have a women’s basketball team this year.