Concord – No matter what word you want to pull from your thesaurus, you cannot deny that Robbinsville’s varsity boys had an extraordinary season.
The Black Knights survived a stretch where three players left the team – in the span of a week – to finish the season at .500 for the first time in four years, snap a five-year playoff drought and even won a postseason game – the first such occurrence for Robbinsville in seven campaigns – in a Feb. 22 triumph over Hiwassee Dam.
So after capturing lightning in a bottle, the Knights traveled to Concord to face the No. 9 seed Carolina International Comets (19-10) on Feb. 24. Even though Robbinsville (No. 25, 13-13) trailed by just six at halftime, victory was still in reach. But the Comets found the basket six times from outside the arc in the second half – to the Knights’ two, both from senior Kamdyn Jordan – and pulled away in the process, ending Robbinsville’s season with a 93-75 victory.
“Just to be honest about it, the 4 ½-hour bus ride killed us,” Black Knights head coach Jake Beasley said. “We did a good job of pacing the day – we stopped three or four times, so they were never on the bus longer than an hour and a half – but I do feel like if we played the game at a neutral site, it would’ve been a different outcome.
“They were very athletic and by far, the quickest team that we’ve played against since I’ve been the coach. We left some points out there and we didn’t necessarily play bad; we played pretty good, but they played really good. They made the plays when they needed to, and we didn’t.”
Senior Dasan Gross floated 23 points through the net for the Knights, pacing Robbinsville’s offense. Jordan had 21, while Bryce Adams scored 11. Also scoring for the Black Knights were Brock Adams 8, and both Donovan Carpenter and Xander Wachacha with 6 each.
Carolina International had three players over the 20-point threshold: T.J. Solomon (23), Kobe Phannavong (22) and Jermayne Brewton (20). The Comets went on to be toppled by Hayesville (No. 1 seed, 25-0) in an 83-47 rout.
Strong return
It will be a formidable task to replace the on-court presence of Gross, Jordan and Brandon McLucas, Robbinsville’s three departing seniors.
“We’re definitely going to miss them,” Beasley said of the senior trio. “They’re phenomenal kids. Kamdyn and Dasan probably played more than Brandon did, but Brandon is a great teammate.
“They’ve been a blessing to coach. Seeing them in heartache after the game was overwhelming. They’re better kids off the court than they are on the court; they’ve done way more for me than I have for them, there’s no doubt.”
Fortunately, the Knights will still have starting point guard Brock Adams, his younger brother Bryce for inside work, and guards Carpenter, Bo Rattler and Wachacha back next season, all of whom contribute dangerous threats to the opposition.