Black Knights maintain home-court advantage

Robbinsville -- The "Heart Attack Knights" were up to their old tricks Thursday night.

A 14-point lead in the fourth quarter slipped away from Robbinsville (No. 6, 23-5) in the second round of the 1A state playoffs and Swain County (No. 22, 13-14) seemed poised to upset the Smoky Mountain Conference champions.

But when will opponents learn that you never, ever count out the Black Knights?

Despite an 8-0 deficit to begin the game and a push that included a trio of Swain County 3's (two from Reece Winchester, one from Joshua Collins) in a late, 45-second spurt -- which tied the game 49-49 -- the resiliency of the home squad shown through the dark clouds once again, as sophomore Bryce Adams drove inside under the 5-second mark, pumped a lay-up over the heads of Maroon Devils' Josiah Glaspie and Aiden Southards, and sent the Black Knights to the third round of the postseason with a 51-49 triumph.

"I feel like we were in control of the game, for the most part," said Robbinsville head coach Jake Beasley. "I don't know why we thought we had to shoot the ball -- that was not portrayed to them in any way -- but it is Swain. It's a rivalry game and they want to finish them off the best they can.

"We've gotta make better decisions going down the stretch, because we did not do that tonight. But these kids are phenomenal; I would not trade them for anybody. We're going to play our hardest every single night and that's why those situations keep going our way. There's no one that plays as hard as we do, night in and night out."

Scoring for Robbinsville was led by Brock Adams, who posted 15 in the victory. Xander Wachacha had 11, while Bryce Adams collected 10. Rounding out the offense for the Black Knights was Donovan Carpenter, 7; Bo Rattler, 6; and Quinn Jumper, 2. 

For Swain County, Reese Winchester paced the Devils with 14 points. Collins recorded 13, while Aiden Southards tallied eight. Filling out the scoreline for Swain was Nathan Bogdanowicz and Priest Littlejohn, 6 each; and Josiah Glaspie, 2.

Robbinsville now hits the road, as the Knights will travel to Eastern Randolph (No. 3, 26-2) on Saturday. Check The Graham Star's Facebook and Twitter accounts Friday for an update on when tip-off will be.