Andrews – After taking down county rival Hiwassee Dam on Jan. 24, Andrews had to quickly turn around and face Hayesville and Swain County, the two best teams in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference.
Though the Wildcats fell 53-42 and 65-54 to the Yellow Jackets and Maroon Devils, head coach Matt Maennle was pleased with his team’s effort.
“We played three good teams this week,” Maennle said. “I was telling my assistants we went 1-2, but we moved up three spots in the MaxPreps rankings. That just shows the competition we played this week.”
Maennle thought there was a time in each game where his team could have folded, but that didn’t happen. Against the Eagles, Andrews (8-10 overall, 1-6 Big Smoky Mountain Conference) led for all of the first three quarters before Hiwassee Dam took the lead in the fourth quarter.
However, the Wildcats held tough, closing the game on a 19-6 run to win 69-58. Isaac Weaver led the way with 23 points, while Kegan Ellis added 16 and Cameron Rattler had 13.
Against Hayesville, Andrews was overmatched in the first half and trailed 43-15 at halftime. The Wildcats
outscored the Yellow Jackets 12-2 in the third quarter and continued to close the gap, forcing Hayesville to put their starters back into the game.
Ellis led the way with 19 points. After scoring 10 against Swain County, he has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
“Kegan is going to be extremely good by the time he’s done,” Maennle said of Ellis. “And he know that, and also needs to know what he needs to fix and work on.”
Against the Maroon Devils (15-6, 5-2), Andrews trailed by 15 at halftime but never let the Maroon Devils get away. They cut the lead to nine, though Swain County kept them at bay. Cameron Rattler had 21 points and 20 rebounds, scoring at least 10 points for the third straight game.
“He’s found another gear in his mental state,” Maennle said of Rattler.
Despite sitting in last place in the conference, Andrews is still in the playoff hunt. The Wildcats traveled to Cherokee on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press, then to Highlands today. The Wildcats have their final home game of the year against Robbinsville on Friday.