Knights struggle in conference showcase
Rosman – It wasn’t exactly the ending Robbinsville basketball was hoping for.
The Knights began the 2019-20 Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament on Friday and by Monday night, had no teams left on the bracket.
The Lady Knights (20-6, No. 4 seed) knocked off Swain County (5-18, No. 5 seed) 54-43 in their quarterfinal game Saturday – after also defeating the Lady Devils 70-49 in the regular-season finale Feb. 12 – but then struggled to find the basket against the No. 1-seeded Murphy Lady Bulldogs (24-0) in the semifinals Monday, dropping a 61-17 affair.
Meanwhile, the Black Knights (3-20, No. 6 seed) were paired against the No. 3-seeded Andrews Wildcats (18-5) in the quarterfinals Saturday and lost, 69-42.
The junior varsity Black Knights (12-7) received a No. 4 seed, but fell in an upset to the No. 5-seeded Hayesville Yellow Jackets in Friday’s quarterfinal match-up, 52-44.
Lady Knights
Playoffs are still on-the-table for Robbinsville’s varsity girls, but consistency must be found between now and next week.
After nearly beating Murphy in the first meeting between the two teams – it took overtime for the Lady Bulldogs to prevail in Jan. 28, 57-54 – Robbinsville has only scored 53 points against the top 1A team in the state in the two meetings since.
“We took it on the chin,” Lady Knights head coach Lucas Ford admitted about Monday’s loss. “We didn’t respond to their pressure well and that’s the first time that’s happened all year. They’re so long in that 1-3-1 zone that we struggle against it.
“You’ve got to be a a team that’s missing a kid and still be adequate; that’s on me. But we’re 20-6 with a great group of girls. If these girls can stay focused on basketball, then we can have a big playoff run. That’s my job; to make sure we’re here and not flaking out.”
In the tournament loss to Murphy, Yeika Jimenez scored a team-best seven points. Cambrie Lovin had six, while Halee Anderson and Kensley Phillips recorded one bucket each.
Lovin dropped 20 points on Swain County in the tournament opener.
Adding to the cause was Jimenez 13, Phillips 11, Anderson 7, Karlyn Matheson 2 and Gabby Hooper 1.
The season finale at Swain was led by Jimenez, who scored 21 points against the Lady Devils. Also scoring was Lovin 13, Matheson 9, Phillips 8, Hooper 7, Anderson 6, Cable 5 and Lina Pagan 1.
Black Knights
Robbinsville played the Wildcats tough in the first quarter of its tournament-opener, but Andrews went on a 19-3 run in the second to pull away.
Leading the scoreline was Clayson Lane, who posted 11. Also scoring was Nathan Collins 10, Landyn Hall 6, Court Carpenter 4, Seth Lawson 3, Hunter Brooks 2, Drey Keener 2, Chris Wright 2, Dalton Capps 1 and Malakai Littlejohn 1.
The Knights lost a shootout in the regular-season finale at Swain County on Feb. 12, coming up on the short end of a 100-86 final.
Hall connected for 27 points against the Devils. Also scoring was Brock Adams 15, Carpenter 10, Capps 6, Lawson 6, Brooks 6, Lane 5, Keener 4, Wright 3, Carson Eller 2 and Nathan Collins 2.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted it to go, but I feel like we competed in every game,” said Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley. “A lot of that is on me; I need to figure out a different scheme to fit our personnel. I’ll gladly take the blame for that, for sure, but I think we’re a better basketball team than what our record shows.”
JV Knights
Robbinsville came out on the winning side in both regular-season pairings against Hayesville, but trailed 26-22 at halftime of the tournament showdown and failed to rally in the second portion.
Eddie Brooms put up 15 points in the finale. Other JV Knights to score were Isaac Wiggins 14, Kamdyn Jordan 6, Dasan Gross 6 and Bo Rattler 3.
Robbinsville won its regular-season conclusion at Swain County on Feb. 12, 59-51.
Brooms and Jordan split the team lead in points, each scoring 15 in the game. Adding to the final outcome was Wiggins 11, Gross 9, Rattler 5 and Carlos Wesley 4.