Robbinsville stymied in resumption of hardwood schedule
Sylva – At every turn and circumstance, the Knights were thwarted in their quest to start 2025 off in the win column.
A 4-game tilt at Smoky Mountain on Tuesday ended with Robbinsville exiting 0-4 on the evening, with only the varsity Black Knights posing a serious threat to the 3A Mustangs.
The boys finale started eerily similar to the varsity girls contest that preceded the jostle, with Smoky Mountain (7-6) opening an identical 10-4 lead in the first segment over Robbinsville (5-4). To their credit, Dane Knott and Darion Ledbetter executed some crisp shots in the period to keep the Knights in the hunt.
Trailing 20-19 at the outset of the second, Robbinsville seized its first lead of the nightcap when Ledbetter dropped a bucket at the 6:30 mark. Not to be outdone, Smoky Mountain responded with back-to-back 3’s from Ben Brown to rob the temporary momentum.
The game seemed destined for a halftime deadlock, until a strange set of events gave the Mustangs a lead. Ace Pregner hit a buzzer-beater two, before exchanging words on the court with Robbinsville’s Kenyon Swimmer. Pregner soon fell to the floor, as if he had been shoved by the senior Black Knight. With both sides of the gym equally divided on the proceedings, officials ruled a technical foul should be assessed – but to Knott, who was not even checked into the game at the time. Pregner won his case and went 1-for-2 on the freebies.
Robbinsville continued to keep pace with the Mustangs in the third, with inside work from Luke Lovin and Roman Jones proving vital. Lovin also drained a pair from outside to keep things honest, but the fourth quarter morphed into a lopsided affair, with Smoky Mountain doubling the Knights’ output down the stretch to prevail 75-62.
Both Knott and Ledbetter finished the game with a team-leading 13 points. Knott also had three assists and a steal, while Ledbetter padded his statline with a trifecta of assists, rebounds and steals.
Also scoring for Robbinsville was Bryce Adams 12, Lovin 8, Nathan Frederick 5, Quinn Jumper 3, and both Swimmer and Tytan Teesateskie, 2 each.
Lady Knights
Robbinsville (4-4) shifted from first into second right off the opening tip in the girls game, with senior Liz Carpenter transitioning low, inside feeds from classmate Claire Barlow into consecutive baskets.
The Lady Mustangs dashed to a 10-0 stampede in response, which was sparked by Aaliyah Voss and Kieaira Ensley knocking down 3’s in succession.
Carpenter found herself in foul trouble with 6:10 left in the first half, forcing the Lady Knights’ top offensive weapon to the bench until the third. Down 17-9 after the opening stanza, Robbinsville struggled to find the net in her absence – but so did Smoky Mountain (3-10), which outscored the visitors 6-5 before intermission.
An 11-11 third played out when both teams returned from the locker room, with Abby Wehr coming to life in a 7-point segment. Zaelyn Phillips also snagged four rebounds in the quarter, but even when combined with Carpenter’s returning presence, the flurry was not enough for the Lady Knights to enjoy a sustained drive in a 50-32 loss.
Carpenter finished with a Robbinsville-best nine points. Wehr had eight, while Phillips recorded six.
Other Lady Knights to score were Anna Williams 4; Katie-Lyn Gross and Bentley Riggins, 2 apiece; and Barlow 1.
Junior varsity
Preliminary games Tuesday ended with the JV Lady Knights (2-2) suffering a 31-22 defeat and the JV Black Knights (5-2) falling 55-42.
MyKayla McGuire shined in the opener, scoring 14 points for Robbinsville. Also contributing to the cause was Novie Dutcher 6 and Bella Coats 2.
Bam Nelms led the Black Knights with 18 points in the second JV contest. Others cracking the scorebook were Eli Lambert 8; Landon Eddings 6; Tucker Jones and Xamuel Wachacha, 4 each; and Elijah Kirkland 2.
Robbinsville continued to face non-conference action after Wednesday’s press deadline, welcoming North Buncombe.