Robbinsville – Through sheer perseverance, the Black Knights are now the program to beat in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
Following Tuesday’s swatting of the Hayesville Yellow Jackets, Robbinsville (14-5, 6-1) now sits atop the divisional standings. The highly-anticipated showdown lived up to the hype, turning into a defensive showcase right off the opening whistle and concluding with the Knights on the winning end of a 47-43 final.
Robbinsville held Hayesville (9-10, 4-3) at-bay for the first half, only surrendering four points in the opening stanza and entering the locker room on a high note when Dane Knott drained a long-ranger at the halftime buzzer to give the Black Knights a 20-14 nod.
The Jackets came out stinging in the third, buzzing ahead with a 12-1 run that was strongly aided by the outside shooting of Brady Reynolds. The sophomore Yellow Jacket was responsible for seven from beyond the arc on the night; three of those came in the third alone. Hayesville briefly enjoyed a 24-21 lead as a result of his sharpshooting, but Darion Ledbetter and the Robbinsville cagers halted the celebration in its tracks with a quick offensive flurry that pulled the Knights back out front, 31-30.
Reynolds provided some late excitement as well, draining another trey with 43 seconds left to cut the deficit to 44-43. But with the need to foul – in an effort to quickly regain possession – looming overhead, Hayesville was left clinging to hope. Roman Jones drained a foul shot, with Slade Crouch driving down the floor and attempting a game-tying pump shot with five seconds to play.
The ball careened off the back of the rim and out-of-bounds; moments later, Knott was fouled on the inbound and sank both his free throws to polish off the thriller.
Knott finished with a Robbinsville-high 12 points. Bryce Adams hit eight, while Ledbetter, Luke Lovin and Kenyon Swimmer each deposited six.
Also scoring were Isiac Collins and Quinn Jumper, 4 apiece; and Jones 1.
The wild victory capped a 3-game homestand for the Knights, which started with another well-hyped contest Friday against Andrews. The Knights rebounded from a halftime deficit to tame the Wildcats, 56-46.
Robbinsville started the game by opening an 18-9 lead, but Andrews (15-6, 4-3) surged back with a 9-0 run in the final two minutes of the first to put things in an 18-18 deadlock. Kegan Ellis then continued the Wildcats’ attack by hitting a 3-pointer to begin the second, with Ledbetter responding by cleaning up a missed shot for a putback moments later.
Andrews held a scant 32-30 lead at intermission, but Knott’s pair of long-distance deliveries helped swing the tide back toward Robbinsville. He also led the offense Friday, knocking down five from outside to post 15 on the evening.
By the end of the third, the Cats trailed 49-39 and failed to gain any ground down the stretch.
Others to score were Adams 11, Ledbetter 10, Jumper 7, Collins 6, Jones 5 and Lovin 2.
Wedged between the pivotal league match-ups was the debut against a new school from Cashiers, Summit Charter (3-13). Robbinsville hosted the Bears on Monday and cruised to a 77-24 victory.
On the opening bucket of the game, Adams surpassed the 1,100-point threshold and finished the night with a team-high 17. Following Tuesday, he now has 1,124 and sits firmly in third place for all-time scorers in Black Knights’ history.
Also scoring was Jumper 16; Nathan Frederick and Kyzik Teesateskie, 9 each; Jones and Knott, 7 apiece; Trey Lambert 5; Isiac Collins 4; and Logan Callaway 3.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville (12-3) continued its solid junior varsity run by edging out a 48-43 win over Andrews and disposing of Hayesville 54-36.
Bam Nelms took charge of the offense against the Wildcats, recording 16 points for Robbinsville. Also scoring was Elijah Kirkland 11; Eli Lambert 10; Landon Eddings 6; and Tucker Jones and Xamuel Wachacha, 2 points each.
Lambert was the helm Tuesday, dropping 13 on the Yellow Jackets. Others contributing to the outcome were Eddings 10; Wachacha 9; Kirkland and Nelms, 8 each; Jones 4; and Elliott Beasley 2.