Murphy – Heading into the Feb. 18 regular-season finale, Robbinsville needed a win to stay in the playoff race.
However, the Black Knights (8-6, 6-6) fell behind early on the road at Murphy and were unable to bounce back, dropping a 64-54 affair to the Bulldogs. The loss dropped Robbinsville to fourth place in the Smoky Mountain Conference standings, in a year where the division was only guaranteed two automatic postseason bids.
Still, the abbreviated 2021 campaign stands as Robbinsville’s most successful since the Knights won 13 games over the course of the 2017-18 season. And with seven players set to return – Robbinsville will bid goodbye to seniors Nathan Collins, Drey Keener, Jeb Shuler and Rossi Wachacha – the future is bright.
“We will miss the seniors a lot, going forward,” Robbinsville head coach Jake Beasley said. “They have laid the foundation for us going ahead, and the underclassmen have some big shoes to fill.”
Robbinsville fell behind 10-3 in the first quarter of the matchup with Murphy, but trimmed the deficit to 10-7 by the end of the period.
A jumper from Kamdyn Jordan temporarily put the Knights ahead 19-18 in the second, but Murphy’s Abram Abling answered right back and though a pair of Eddie Brooms foul shots would push Robbinsville ahead 21-20 moments later, Abling hit another jumper on the ensuing play that gave Murphy the lead once more.
The Bulldogs did not cough up the lead from that point on.
“Even though it’s not the result we wanted, I’m still super proud of this group of young men,” Beasley added. “This group has grown a ton overall this year. We always play extremely hard, and that’s all I ever ask of them, is to leave everything out on the court and leave no regrets.”
Junior varsity
Robbinsville’s excellent junior varsity season sadly ended on a sour note, with the Knights (9-2) falling at Murphy 53-42.
“We have a very bright future ahead,” Beasley said. “Not only did our JVs finish as co-conference champions, but our middle school boys team only lost two games this year.
“There is a lot of talent coming up for the boys program.”
Scoring for the Knights was led by Xander Wachacha and Donovan Carpenter, who had 13 points apiece.
Also adding to the outcome was Bo Rattler with 10 points and C.J. Ornelas with 6.
“For us to get to the next level, we have to have more kids putting in extra work during the offseason; it can’t just be a couple here or there,” Beasley said. “They all need to buy in to working hard during the offseason, and we could be a force to be reckoned with in the future, from varsity down to middle school.”