Knights suffer 1st loss of year in tournament
Sylva – The Black Knights were adamant about what they hoped to accomplish in the Smoky Mountain Christmas Invitational: win and win out.
The goal circled after Robbinsville defeated Andrews on Dec. 19 looked to reverse the fortunes of the Knights’ three-day excursion to Sylva last year, where Robbinsville was defeated in the tournament opener by the hosting Mustangs. The loss still lingered in the minds of those who were on the team.
But the Knights were down three starters when the Dec. 27 invitational debut tipped off. Robbinsville soon fell into a 12-0 hole that it could not dig itself out of and, despite a mad 20-point showing from Bryce Adams, the Black Knights came out on the losing end of a 51-48 final.
“It’s always hard to get kids motivated for a Christmas tournament,” Robbinsville head coach Jake Beasley said. “They’re not in their normal routine: they’re not in school or at their normal practice time. Everything is out of the norm.
“I feel like the kids played really hard, but we just did not do what we were supposed to do.”
Smoky Mountain (3-9) got off to a hot start, thanks to Ben Brown and Lane Wike draining back-to-back shots from outside. The duo continued to pepper the goal throughout the game, with Wike recording 17 to lead the Mustangs and Brown dropping 16.
Robbinsville (7-2) got back into the mix late, riding the wave of four 3-pointers from Dane Knott and Adams’ double-double afternoon (14 rebounds to go with his 20 points). Donovan Carpenter also hit a 3 in the fourth and later sank a floater with 11 seconds to go, which cut the Mustangs’ lead to 49-48.
However, it was the hosts who fired the final salvo, with Wike scoring on an uncontested layup following an inbound pass with three seconds to go.
In addition to Adams’ 20 points, Knott had 14 in the game and Carpenter posted 10. Filling out the scoreline was a third-quarter bucket from Kenyon Swimmer; and a pair of foul shots, thanks to Roman Jones and Darion Ledbetter.
Robbinsville was without Carpenter for the next two games, after he suffered a calf strain in the Smoky Mountain contest. The Knights worked to fill in his presence both in and out of the paint, splitting the remaining bill with a 63-60 victory over Veritas Christian Academy on Dec. 28; before falling to Brevard 64-48 on Friday.
Looking to avenge its first blemish, Robbinsville came out with guns blazing against Veritas Christian (6-4), producing 26 points alone in the first. Both Knott and Swimmer connected for a pair of 3’s in the segment, with Adams posting three from the field; senior center Nathanael Shope politely putting back a pair of errant attempts; and Roman Jones sinking a jumper.
The mad tempo set at the start later slowed, with the Warriors’ size outclassing the Black Knights on the boards. Veritas Christian used its physicality inside to trim Robbinsville’s lead to 39-29 at halftime and even pulled ahead on an Eli Robbins 3-point play with 3:26 left in the third.
Refusing to lie down, the Knights continued to fight and Adams used a 3-point play of his own to push Robbinsville back ahead 58-56 with 2:58 left in regulation. From there, Veritas tied the game twice more, but was not able to pull back ahead.
With overtime looming, Knott sealed the deal on his fourth connection from beyond the arc with a scant 1.4 seconds remaining.
Adams put up 22 against the Warriors to lead Robbinsville. Knott finished with 14, while Swimmer recorded 10. Others to score for the Knights were Ledbetter, 9; Shope, 4; and a basket apiece from Jones and Quinn Jumper.
Robbinsville looked sharp in the early going against the Blue Devils, getting off to a 7-0 start thanks to Ledbetter’s shot from inside and out; as well as a two from Swimmer.
Brevard (7-5) squashed the momentum quickly by going on a 17-1 run in the stanza, which set the mood for the remainder of the game. The Devils sprung to a 30-14 lead at halftime, once again controlling Robbinsville’s offensive-rebound efforts handily to throw things off.
The Knights were unable to really threaten a takeover in the second half. Despite a more-spirited shooting effort, Brevard was able to either match Robbinsville point-for-point or remain one step ahead down the stretch.
“We didn’t play our game at all,” Beasley said. “We got into foul trouble and definitely did not play our game, since defense is normally our strong point. That was a bigger disappointment than the offensive end.”
Swimmer led the Black Knights with 13 points. Knott posted 10 on the afternoon, with Ledbetter connecting for 7.
Rounding out the scoreline was Adams 6; and 2 each from Logan Callaway, Isiac Collins and Jones.
Bouncing back
Beasley lightheartedly pointed out that it was a new year, before noting that Robbinsville will carry on with defending its 20-game home winning streak this week.
Highlands (2-10) pays a visit tonight; Hayesville (7-5) rolls into town for the resumption of conference play Friday. The Jackets were the last team to hand Robbinsville a home loss: a 51-44 defeat Jan. 7, 2022. The Knights will then return the favor from their season opener Tuesday, making the short, yet winding trek to Nantahala (3-5).
“With us having two games in a row, that’s a huge benefit for us,” Beasley said. “That winning streak is a big factor for us; the kids have kind of embraced that and want to see how far we can take this.”