Robbinsville – After submitting a shaky showing in its season debut Nov. 3, the middle school Black Knights have more than made up for its initial foray into the 2025-26 slate.
Consecutive wins from Robbinsville (2-1) included a delayed 50-23 home trouncing of the Murphy Bulldogs on Tuesday. The game was played one day later than planned, due to inclement weather.
All the sub-zero elements did was put Micah York's monster performance on ice, as the forward gladly deposited all of the Knights' offense in the first quarter. Robbinsville's 6-2 advantage entering the second was quickly erased by a quick spurt from the visitors in the opening moments of the stanza, but the Black Knights saw the strong defensive efforts of Brayden Allison and Landon Silvers in the first quarter morph into clutch offensive shots in the second to assist York's outpouring.
After carrying a 19-12 lead into halftime, Robbinsville stormed out of the locker room and picked up right where it left off. Murphy found itself stymied by a suffocating defense, which seemingly thwarted each Bulldogs' possession at will. The Knights led 33-16 at the outset of the fourth, before running up the final tally down the stretch.
When the numbers were crunched, York finished with a team-high 22 points, and also added six steals and five rebounds to the mix. Brayden Allison compiled 10 points, six steals and three rebounds, while point guard Carsan Snider had eight points, but dished out 11 assists and picked off four Murphy passes.
Rounding out the scoreline for Robbinsville was Silvers 4; David Guzman and Jax Mullinax, 2 each; and both Zeller Chekeleelee and Mekhi Dominguez, 1 apiece.
Tuesday's opener was a tale of two halves, as the Lady Knights (1-2) coughed up a 19-15 lead at the pause to fall 44-26.
Robbinsville allowed just one Murphy point in the first quarter and carried over the momentum of the 7-1 advantage into the second. Following halftime, the Lady Bulldogs showed renewed intensity on the interior and cleaned up several second-chance shots to pull ahead of the Knights.
In turn, Robbinsville had a handful of shots miss in the fourth that could have made things interesting – but the hands of fate had other plans.
Emily Jones, Mercy Nelms and Natalie Swimmer each scored a team-leading six points for the Lady Knights, while McKynlee Adams and Lakin Orr had four points apiece.
Devils drubbed
Bryson City – The Lady Knights quickly put a sluggish start to Nov. 6's road appointment with Swain County in the rearview mirror, shutting out the hosts in the second quarter and cruising to a 40-13 win.
Robbinsville led 6-3 after the first, before kicking into another gear in the second. For the remainder of the blowout, the Lady Knights simply displayed more finesse than the Lady Devils on the glass – and also forced a slew of turnovers from Swain County to aid the cause.
Adams led the charge with 17 points. Other contributing to the final outcome were Swimmer 7; Elizabeth Cervantes and Orr, 5 each; Nelms 3; Kenzie Williams 2; and Jones 1.
Snider hit 5-of-8 from outside for Robbinsville in the Black Knights' 69-51 runaway over the Devils. He finished with 25 on the evening, while tacking on 14 assists for good measure.
Also scoring was York 15; Brayden Allison 14; Kam Driver 6; Silvers 5; Mason Walkingstick 3; and Elijah Allison 1.
Robbinsville travels to Hiwassee Dam today, before welcoming Cherokee on Monday.