Robbinsville – The visitors came out swinging Tuesday, opening a 10-0 lead before the Black Knights mustered their first response.
However, Robbinsville (No. 16 seed, 16-8) was unable to recoup the cost of the early rush from North Stokes (No. 17, 19-9), only drawing within four of the Vikings at one point in the first round of the state playoffs. A late on-court skirmish on the floor did very little to affect the final outcome: a 72-63 loss.
“We were not ready to play. That’s on me,” said Robbinsville head coach Jake Beasley. “We had 1 1/2 weeks off from games and you could definitely tell it. We weren’t ourselves the whole game.”
From the opening tip, Will Greer made life miserable for the Black Knights. North Stokes’ 6’4” senior center dropped shots from inside at-will and even mixed in a pair of outside sinkers amid a 36-point showing for the Vikings.
Robbinsville erased its sluggish start with a trio of trey’s: Dane Knott sank the first basket of the game for the Knights, while Darion Ledbetter followed with a pair from beyond the arc to get the offense rolling. But Robbinsville failed to connect for an inside shot until the second quarter, when Bryce Adams hit a shot off a downcourt feed from Quinn Jumper.
Robbinsville’s best threat came midway through the third, when Donovan Carpenter swished a 3-pointer before plucking the ball away and depositing a transition shot moments later.
The Knights trailed 41-37 after the burst, but failed to pull any closer thereafter.
Despite the poor ending, Carpenter led Robbinsville with 21 points, five rebounds, four steals and one block. Ledbetter finished with 19 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals; Adams posted a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and an assist to his credit.
Other Black Knights to score were Knott 6; Roman Jones and Jumper finished with a basket each to their credit.
Season synopsis
Beasley provided an honest assessment of how Robbinsville’s season mapped out, one year removed from a Smoky Mountain Conference title and a third-round playoff appearance.
“We finished 16-8; that’s eight more losses than we should have had,” Beasley said. “Going into the year, I felt like this was probably the most talented group I have ever had. Straight up, there’s too many ‘me’s’ and not enough ‘we’s’ on this basketball team. Until we start playing together as a team going forward, this will be the result we will get.
“As a whole, though, I am proud of them. They played hard most of the year. I wish it would’ve went different, no question. I’ve got a really good group of kids; at the end of the day, we’re a family and that’s what we always break it down on.”