It was a three-game week to wrap up the regular season for the Andrews varsity basketball teams. The boys got wins over Hayesville, Blue Ridge Early College and Cherokee, while the girls defeated Blue Ridge.
Junior Gabe Clark reached the 1,000-point milestone in his high school career with a 3-pointer against Blue Ridge Early College on Feb. 11.
Cats win close game
The boys started the week with a comeback win over Hayesville on Feb. 9. After trailing heading into the fourth quarter, the Wildcats came back and won the game 56-53.
Hayesville opened the game with a four-point lead after the first quarter as they led 19-15. The Wildcats battled back in the second half with 16 points to lead 31-30 at halftime, the first of two important comebacks in the game.
Out of halftime, the Yellow Jackets dropped 18 points in the third quarter to regain the lead. Hayesville took a 48-42 lead to the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points in the final frame to complete the comeback.
Gabe Clark led the Cats with 18 points. Also in double digits were Braylen Maennle with 14 points and Levi Clark with 13.
Girls falls to Jackets
The Lady Wildcats started the week by facing the second-place team in the Smoky Mountain Conference, Hayesville. Andrews fell 43-32 to the Lady Yellow Jackets on Feb. 9 at home.
The Lady Yellow Jackets took an early lead with 22 points in the opening quarter. Andrews fought back with 17 points in the second quarter.
Hayesville took a 27-21 lead to halftime. The Yellow Jackets outscored Andrews in the third and fourth quarters for the win.
Knox Davis and Juliet Holloway led the Lady Cats with eight points each.
Boys drop 81 in win
The Wildcats were led to victory by five players with double-digit points as Andrews defeated Blue Ridge Early College 81-38 on Feb. 11 in the last non-conference regular-season game.
In the opening bucket of the game, junior Gabe Clark hit a 3-pointer to reach the 1,000-point milestone in his high school career. The Cats went on to score 26 in the first quarter and 17 more in the second to lead 43-21 at halftime.
They extended their lead to 70-31 through the third quarter. With 11 more points in the fourth quarter, the Cats won.
Levi Clark led the Cats with 18 points. Gabe Clark and Logan Shuler had 16 points each, while Phisher Baxter had 13 and Brady McLelland scored 10.
Girls beat Bobcats
The Lady Wildcats spread the ball around well in their 54-32 win over Blue Ridge Early College.
In a game where Andrews had nine scorers, the Lady Cats earned the win in their last non-conference game of the regular season on Feb. 11.
The Lady Wildcats had a huge first half with 25 points in the first quarter – while shutting out the Lady Bobcats – and 23 more points in the second quarter. They led 48-7 at halftime, then had a six-point second half for the win.
Knox Davis led the Cats with 25 points. Drea Cutshaw and Marley Blackwell added eight points each.
Boys end with win
The Wildcats fought hard and ended the regular season with a 70-67 win over Cherokee on the road Thursday night.
The Braves took the early lead with 11 points in the first quarter for the Wildcats to trail by two heading into the second quarter. With 18 points in the second quarter, the Wildcats led 27-25 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cats extended their lead to 51-46 after a high-scoring period. Despite the Braves outscoring the Cats 21-19 in the fourth quarter, the Cats held on for the win.
Gabe Clark led the Cats with 18 points against Cherokee, while Levi Clark had 17 points. Also in double digits were Maennle with 13 points and Shuler with 11.
Girls fall in finale
The Lady Wildcats ended the regular season on the road with a 79-33 loss to Cherokee Thursday night.
The Lady Braves opened the game with 33 points in the first quarter, then added 16 more in the second quarter to lead 49-20 at halftime. Cherokee added 16 points in the third quarter and 14 more in the fourth to win the regular-season finale.
Davis and Cutshaw led the Lady Cats with 11 points each.
Up next
Both Wildcats teams ended the regular season 7-5 in the Smoky Mountain Conference and are the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Both teams played Tuesday after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline.