Robbinsville boys fall in quarterfinal shockers
Cherokee – You never know how the chips may fall once you reach the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament.
Both of Robbinsville’s boys teams were afforded the No. 3 seed in their respective brackets, with the junior varsity squad dancing with the Swain County Maroon Devils and the varsity stars entertaining the Hayesville Yellow Jackets (both No. 6 seeds).
Between the two opponents, just one divisional victory existed.
Friday’s return trip from Cherokee had to be one of stunned silence, as the Knights were left to ponder where it all went wrong in a pair of upsets: the JVs fell 58-45, before the varsity dropped a 64-59 overtime affair.
Hayesville (13-13) posted a winless mark in the conference during the regular season, but hung tough in the first half Friday thanks to a cold start from Robbinsville (16-7). Senior Donovan Carpenter kept the Knights in the mix by scoring 19 of Robbinsville’s 26 in the first half.
The first quarter ended in a 9-9 tie, but the Jackets slimmed a 26-22 halftime deficit down to 42-all at the outset of the fourth. A pair of 3’s from Isaac Chandler and Luke Lee kept things interesting in the fourth, with Robbinsville unable to find the net from outside in the period. Regulation ended in a 53-53 deadlock.
Free basketball featured Hayesville pulling away in the final minute, as the Yellow Jackets had opened a 58-55 nod and held firmly to the 3-point advantage until the closing seconds. Carpenter’s bucket was the only points from the field for the Black Knights; otherwise, Bryce Adams and Kenyon Swimmer made the best of separate trips to the charity stripe.
Carpenter led Robbinsville with 25 points in the loss. Swimmer landed 12, while Adams posted 11. Darion Ledbetter’s 9 and Dane Knott’s third-quarter basket filled out the Knights’ offense.
It was unclear at Wednesday’s press deadline just how much the loss hampers Robbinsville’s playoff seeding, as the tournament finals (Cherokee vs. Hayesville) are penciled in for this Friday.
Junior varsity
Swain County was more than willing to build on a lethargic start for Robbinsville in Friday’s JV showdown, opening a 17-4 lead in the first quarter. The Devils kept the heat turned up for the duration, with the Knights only cutting the deficit to 30-18 at halftime before Swain raced away by posting a 45-26 mark prior to the fourth.
Leading Robbinsville (10-6) was Nathan Frederick’s 21-point afternoon. Isiac Collins put up 15, while Tucker Jones hit four.
Everett Taylor drained a second-quarter trey and Tristen Blevins connected for a bucket in the third.