Robbinsville – To repeat as the Smoky Mountain Conference champions, the Black Knights will have to make sure not to fall susceptible to the perils of the road.
Fresh off a convincing 68-53 home win over Murphy on Tuesday, head coach Jake Beasley is confident Robbinsville will be making room in the trophy case soon enough.
“This game came at the perfect time for us,” Beasley explained. “We did not play like we were capable of last week, but this game has us going back in the right direction. We have a lot of experience that would help us on the road; we have a lot of kids that have played a lot of varsity minutes in a lot of hostile environments.
“I still feel like our depth is going to be the difference maker. When I’ve got 10-12 kids that can go in and play anytime – others teams do not have that. The ones that were here to experience how it went last year are hungry for it again.”
The win over Murphy (12-6, 3-3) came after a pair of back-to-back divisional losses at home to Swain County (14-5, 4-2) on Jan. 23 and Cherokee (10-7, 4-2) on Friday, 73-62.
Against the Bulldogs, things looked bleak in the beginning. Robbinsville (12-4, 4-2) posted a scant nine points in the opening segment. Unable to cool off Murphy’s outside attack – 18 first-half points came from beyond the arc, with nine posted by Cale Harger – Robbinsville trailed ever-so-slightly at the pause, 23-22.
Something just clicked in the locker room at halftime. Beasley said no strategies were altered; the gameplan just received better execution in the third quarter.
The Black Knights exploded in a 27-10 session that included a master class on “team” basketball: aggressive defense on the glass and the floor and unselfish passes to assist buckets had the Bulldogs scratching their ears in disbelief. Kenyon Swimmer capped a hot 14-2 start for Robbinsville with back-to-back deposits; the push was unrelenting in the fourth, with the Knights practically keeping pace with Murphy down the stretch.
“I knew if we could come out and get some stops, that they weren’t going to hit six 3’s again in the second half,” said Beasley. “I challenged our guys to keep them off the 3-point line and not give them any offensive rebounds.
“That third quarter was how they should’ve been playing the whole time, but I told them after the game that they’ve still got room for improvement. They just kinda looked at me, but I told them I’d set high expectations for this team – but I don’t think I set them high enough, considering how special they could be coming down the stretch.”
Bryce Adams prevailed as the high scorer for Robbinsville, dropping 19 on the Dogs. Kenyon Swimmer recorded 13, while Dane Knott finished with 12 on the night.
Rounding out the scoreline was Darion Ledbetter 11, Donovan Carpenter 9 and Roman Jones 4.
Carpenter had seen enough of Friday’s proceedings against the Braves. A 22-point first half production for the Knights was soon a distant memory when Carpenter slipped 15 of his team-best 21 points through the net in the final 16 minutes.
But Jack Teesateskie’s quartet of 3’s in the second had built an insurmountable lead for Cherokee. Robbinsville managed to chop the deficit to 69-62 with 46 seconds to play, but could not threaten further thanks to a pair of interior pump shots from Michael Driver and Samuel Hernandez in the closing moments.
All the conclusions did was prove the long-standing hypothesis that on any given night, a game in the Smoky Mountain Conference could go either way.
In addition to Carpenter’s 21, both Adams and Ledbetter recorded 13 points each against the Braves. Elsewhere on the scoreline was Knott 7, Swimmer 6 and Jones 2.
The final stretch of the regular season includes stops at Hiwassee Dam (3-12) today; Andrews (16-4, 3-3) on Friday; Hayesville (11-9, 0-6) on Tuesday; Swain County on Friday, Feb. 9; and Cherokee on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The only return home comes Wednesday, Feb. 7 in a rescheduled game against Blue Ridge School (3-12) for Senior Night.
The week began with a 78-39 thrashing of Hiwassee Dam on Jan. 25.
It was Swimmer’s breakout game, as he put up a team-best 19 points on the Eagles. Also scoring was Adams 18, Ledbetter 11, Knott 9, Lambert 7, Shope 5, Carpenter 4, Callaway 3 and Nathan Frederick 2.
Junior varsity
Robbinsville dropped to 6-3 in JV play, only delivering one loss: a 46-28 win over Hiwassee Dam.
The success was led by both Frederick and Isiac Collins, who tallied 16 apiece. Others to score for the Knights were Kasen Buchanan 8, Tucker Jones 4 and Slade Freeman 2.
Despite a 27-point effort from Frederick, Robbinsville fell to Cherokee 55-42. Also scoring for the Knights was Everett Taylor 6, Tristen Blevins 3, and the trio of Buchanan, Collins and Jones posting a bucket each.
It took overtime, but Murphy eventually took home a 44-42 nod over Robbinsville on Tuesday.
Frederick had 16 to lead the Knights’ offense. Others filling out the final tally were Collins 14, Buchanan 6, and both Blevins and Jones with 3 each.