Robbinsville – It was the shot every basketball player dreams of making: the game-winning 3, at the final buzzer.
Unfortunately for Robbinsville, it came from the visitor’s side of Friday’s home finale and occurred just moments after Drey Keener had dropped a go-ahead layup on the Swain County Maroon Devils.
Redemption – after falling by 23 in Bryson City on Jan. 19 – was not in the cards for the Black Knights (8-5, 6-5), as Swain’s Carter Kirkland aired out a 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded. The ball swished through the net and gave the Maroon Devils (9-4, 7-4) a 67-65 win.
Robbinsville trailed for much of the game, but finally pulled ahead 53-52 on a Dasan Gross jumper midway through the fourth quarter. From there, the lead continually changed hands and though the Knights outscored the Devils 38-33 in the second half, the offensive push came too little, too late.
Still, Robbinsville is in quite the unique position. Depending on how things shake out tonight – namely, the Knights defeating the Murphy Bulldogs (9-4, 7-4) in the regular-season conclusion – there is the potential for a 3-way, second-place tie in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
The very fate of postseason-seeding might truly lie with the luck of the draw, as the Knights, Swain and Murphy might have to pull numbers from a hat for playoff-bracket purposes.
“In the past month, we’ve really come together as a team,” said Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley. “A win (tonight) would be a great way to end this season – but I’m not saying it’s over yet: we could still make the playoffs.”
The first tango with Andrews on Jan. 22 resulted in a 57-55 Knights victory, but Tuesday’s visit to Cherokee County ended with a slightly-better outcome against the Wildcats (3-9, 2-9): a 61-55 victory.
“We made some big, key foul shots and some clutch rebounds,” Beasley said after Tuesday’s win. “I’m super proud of these guys; they play with a ton of heart.”
Indeed, Robbinsville pulled down 10 boards in the final eight minutes and went 15-of-21 from the foul line in the fourth. The effort helped the Knights rally from a 23-18 deficit at the break, with numerous lead changes taking place over the course of the second half.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville’s perfect junior varsity season came to an end Friday night, as the Black Knights (9-1) fell in a hard-fought 46-41 loss to Swain County.
Xander Wachacha led Robbinsville’s offense with 14 points.
Also scoring was Bo Rattler 12, Andrew Thacker 4, Nathaniel Shope 4, Michael Green 3, Donovan Carpenter 2 and C.J. Ornelas 2.
The Knights rebounded nicely Tuesday, picking up a 48-41 win at Andrews.
Wachacha’s 21-point night led the effort. Other Knights to score were Ornelas 12, Carpenter 9 and Rattler 6.