Andrews – Normally, the less said about a situation like the one that sparked a quick sprint of coaches, officials and school-resource officers, the better.
But the situation cannot be swept under the rug.
With three seconds left in the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament finals – the conclusion of an 8-day showcase just a few breaths away – tempers flared underneath the Murphy basket on a Bryce Adams rebound, his 14th of the game.
Fan video of the incident provided to The Graham Star show a Bulldogs athlete – who will not be identified in this report – shoving Adams back down after the sophomore forward snagged what should have been the final stat of a 63-52, Black-Knights victory.
That’s all it took.
In the blink of an eye, both Murphy (No. 2 tournament seed, 17-9) and Robbinsville (No. 1 tournament seed, 22-5) were in a shouting match, with several students merging onto the court and players from both benches leaving the sideline – a definite no-no that has since resulted in several playoff disqualifications for athletes from both teams.
Order was soon restored and referees agreed to issue bench technicals. The ball was soon thrown back into play and the seconds quickly ticked off the clock.
Though the incident cast a dark cloud over Robbinsville’s first divisional-tournament crown since its 2013-14 run, the Knights did what they have done all season, good or bad: moved on to the next task ahead – after all, it’s playoff time.
“The good thing with this group is that they have faced adversity all year long, and they’ve responded very well to it,” Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley pointed out. “Obviously, they have each other’s backs. It could’ve been really bad, but I talked with (Murphy) coach (Erik) Laney over the weekend and we both felt like it was a heated conference-championship game, between two rivals.
“What was said was said and what was done was done. We went through the line, slapped hands, gave each other hugs and that was that. The kids knew what was on the line and they handled the situation the best they could.”
Friday’s showdown – held inside the Ken Solesbee Athletic Center at Andrews High School – was aggressive from the get-go. Robbinsville’s only deficit came in the first quarter, when Dillian Brown drained one of his five 3’s in the contest to push the Bulldogs ahead 11-10. The Knights pulled back ahead on a pair of Donovan Carpenter free throws and soon enough, the Bulldogs had fouled their way into the bonus for the Knights.
Brown hit two more from outside to keep the Dogs in the hunt, but Robbinsville still lead 26-24 at the break. Xander Wachacha then did what he has done to opponents in recent games – perform a third-quarter drubbing, to the tune of three from outside. Carpenter and Brock Adams launched floaters that aided the 24-9 run in the segment, which all but put victory out of Murphy’s clutches.
All the Knights had to do was stay the course in the fourth and though the Bulldogs outpaced Robbinsville 19-13 down the stretch, the conference champions maintained their poise.
“That’s one of the best second halves we have played,” Beasley said. “We didn’t play really well in the first half, but we were still ahead by two at halftime. I challenged them and asked, ‘How bad do y’all want to double up on championships? Are you interested in winning, or are you committed to winning?’
“You could tell in the third quarter which was the better team. That’s no disrespect to Murphy; they’re a really good team and they’re very tough to match up with. They’re going to do some damage in the playoffs. But that second half showed that when we play our game, I don’t think anybody in western North Carolina can play with us. We’re as tough as anybody.”
Early scare
Robbinsville – Three years ago, Robbinsville did not qualify for the playoffs.
This season, the Black Knights are sitting high enough on the horse to be guaranteed at least two home games – the first of which came Tuesday.
Afforded the No. 6 seed in the 1A Western bracket, Robbinsville hosted Mountain Island Charter (No. 27, 10-12) in the two-game nightcap. The Raptors led the entire game – save for the final two seconds, when Robbinsville pulled ahead on a Brock Adams free throw. Rattler pulled down the missed second-shot and held it in his clutches until the final buzzer sounded.
“It’s hard coming off a big conference-tournament win like we did against Murphy,” Brock explained. “Going into the game tonight, we knew they were going to be good, but we did kind of overlook them.
“The big foul shots like that are nerve-wracking, but every night I am in the gym working on my free throws and my shots, and it finally paid off.”
Mountain Island Charter outclassed the Knights throughout the first half of their first home playoff game since 2014, dominating on the glass and zipping up the floor with ease. Robbinsville trailed 11-9 at the end of the first, but scored just four more before the break while the Raptors piled up a 15-point advantage.
But the Knights did what they have done all year: they refused to quit.
“When we got in the locker room at the half, down 15, everyone just honestly calmed down,” Brock said. “We knew we had a bad half, but the second half was ours. We came out, got some lay-ups and some big-time defensive stops, got rolling and the rest was history.”
Robbinsville finally started shutting down the hot Mountain Island shooting in the third and thanks to Carpenter coming to life, pulled the score to 39-35 by the outset of the fourth.
It seemed the Knights were never going to get that magical tying point to drop – until Carpenter hit a foul shot at the 11-second mark to knot things at 45-all.
Brock’s swish near the end sent the gym into a roar of approval, while the Raptors were left silent.
“Everyone on our team played hard tonight and done what we had to win,” said Brock. “I wouldn’t want to be a part of any other team but this one – and we ain’t finished yet.”
Robbinsville will host a familiar face in the second round of the playoffs tonight – the Swain County Maroon Devils.
Swain County (No. 22 seed, 13-13) knocked off Little Smoky Mountain Conference champions Hiwassee Dam (No. 11, 14-13), 71-62 on Tuesday night.
A start time had not been determined by Wednesday’s press deadline, but if you cannot make it in-person, the game will be streamed on
grahamstarsports.com.