Andrews – The way the Andrews boys basketball team played for the first 20-plus minutes against Swain County in its Big Smoky Mountain Conference opener was enough to make a coach want to rip their hair out.
The Maroon Devils were methodical on offense while trapping with high ball pressure on defense, and the Wildcats started pressing because of it. Turnovers were constant, and shots wouldn’t fall.
However, after Swain County took a 31-23 lead with 3:16 in the third quarter, a switch flipped. The Wildcats went on a 19-4 run to turn the deficit into a 42-35 lead and beat the Maroon Devils 61-50 to start conference play on Dec. 13.
“That first half was probably the worst half we’ve ever played,” Andrews senior guard Donovan Bateman said. “Turning the ball over, couldn’t get the offense started, we were trying to overcompensate for their tempo, I guess you could say, trying to do much. In the second half we really settled down, finally quit turning the ball over and started scoring some points.”
After playing a more up-tempo style with a senior-heavy team last year, Swain County
is a more patient team this year. When Andrews was able to run offense or get shots early in the game and break the Maroon Devils’ 1-3-1 zone, it usually led to baskets from either Cameron Rattler or Tyler West, who finished with 14 points and 17 points, respectively.
The problem was taking care of the ball. It didn’t matter if it was struggling to break the press or making overzealous passes in half court offense. The Wildcats could not take care of the basketball.
“That killed us early,” head coach Matt Maennle said. “They played hard early on in the game, and it didn’t shock us. And I guess we weren’t prepared for it like we needed to be.”
Swain County jumped out to a 17-10 lead, and Andrews cut it to one possession multiple times in the second quarter, but didn’t have enough clean possessions to put together a big run. After trailing 23-21 at halftime, the Maroon Devils started the half with a 3-point play from Josh Collins, then an easy layup by Riley Winchester pushed the lead to seven. Maennle called timeout, specifically challenging Bateman to get going after he had a scoreless first half.
Reese Winchester hit one of two free throws with 3:16 left in the third quarter, and after that Bateman and Andrews finally started to get going. The Wildcats went on an 8-0 run, with a 3-point play from Bateman tying the game.
Then Bateman hit a 3-pointer to put Andrews on top 36-33 with less than a minute to go in the quarter. He would finish with 16 points, with all nine fourth quarter points coming on free throws.
“I started trying to get to my spots, get to the free throw line because that’s where you can really affect the game,” Bateman said.
After a tough shot off the glass in the lane by Rattler pushed the Wildcats lead out to 42-35, Andrews looked ready to run away with the game. But Swain County’s press forced a few more turnovers, and a 3-point play by Glaspie followed by him hitting one of two free throws made it a three-point game again with 5:42 left.
Andrews answered with a 7-0 run of its own, hitting five of seven free throws from the line along with a big layup from Tyler West off a missed Kegan Ellis 3-pointer. The teams traded buckets from there, with the Wildcats doing enough for the win.
The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season at Cherokee on Friday, 70-60, then hosted Robbinsville on Tuesday after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. They return to the court Wednesday, Dec. 28, at the Swain County Christmas Tournament.