Robbinsville’s win streak reaches five
Robbinsville – The Black Knights have captured lightning in a bottle.
Winners of its last five games, Robbinsville (9-9, 3-4) has consistently pleaded its case for a postseason appearance, which would snap a four-year drought.
Following a 56-53 win over Murphy (8-12, 2-7) on Tuesday, the Knights sit solidly in fourth place in the Smoky Mountain Conference standings, with matchups against third-place Cherokee (7-8, 3-2) and first-place Hayesville (17-0, 7-0) on tap over the next week.
The time for excuses are over; Robbinsville is clicking on all cylinders.
“You can tell a huge difference; we’ve really come together as a team,” said Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley. “We’ve only got seven players that can play right now and what they’ve done is remarkable: it speaks to their character, no question. It would be really easy for a group of guys to back down and say, ‘We’ve got just seven players,’ and use that as an excuse, but there’s no excuses being thrown around.”
Robbinsville held the lead for most of Tuesday’s win over the Bulldogs – which completed a season sweep – and even held off a late surge from Murphy, which saw the Dogs outscore the Knights 19-11 in the fourth quarter.
“They’ve really come together over the last two weeks and it’s going to be a fun run to the end of the season,” Beasley added. “I feel very good about it (the rest of the season). When we play our game, we’re as good as anybody.”
Senior guard Kamdyn Jordan had another resounding performance, with 23 points, seven rebounds, three steals and an assist to his credit. Donovan Carpenter notched 11 points, two steals, two rebounds and a block, while Brock Adams added eight points, four steals, three rebounds and three assists. Also scoring for the Knights were Xander Wachacha 7, Bryce Adams 4 and Bo Rattler 3.
Redemption
Sylva – In a highly-competitive season opener Dec. 10, Robbinsville fell 70-64 to Smoky Mountain.
After one quarter of Jan. 26’s rematch, the score was tied 17-17 and it appeared the Knights and Mustangs would go right down to the wire again.
But Robbinsville quickly pulled away and even built a 20-point lead in the third quarter, going on to defeat Smoky Mountain (4-15) decisively, 77-61.
Brock Adams had a monster night, posting 23 points, five steals, four assists and two rebounds in the victory.
Jordan tallied 15 points, four rebounds and two steals, while Carpenter – who entered the game in relief – finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Other Knights contributing to the cause were Bryce Adams 11, and both Rattler and Wachacha with 7 each.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville (2-9) failed to get into a groove in the first half at Smoky Mountain, only recording eight points in an eventual 57-25 loss to the Mustangs.
Nathaniel Shope led Robbinsville with six points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Logan Callaway and Trey Lambert recorded five points each, with the scoreline rounded out by Isaiah Brown 4, Quinn Jumper 3 and Tanner Hedden 2.
The Knights rebounded nicely Tuesday, picking up a 50-44 home victory over Murphy.
The triumph was spurned by a 20-point game from Brown, who also had six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Also scoring for the Knights were Lambert 10, Jumper 7, Shope 6, Hedden 4 and Callaway 3.