Black Knights dominate in middle school opener
Robbinsville – There are times words are briskly typed onto a keyboard as a way to gently inform the public how a particular game turned out for either the home team or the visitors.
Monday’s hardwood debut for the Robbinsville Middle School Black Knights is perhaps the easiest description of an outcome in quite some time: a good, ol’ fashioned butt-whoopin’. A 20-point opening quarter eventually snowballed into a 32-point first half, with the Dogs left panting in the rearview of lightning-quick transition defense, sharp inside shooting, a sizable inside presence and just flat-out dominant basketball: courtesy of a 53-10 romping from the Black Knights.
“The moment the ball was in play, the nerves left quickly,” said Robbinsville head coach Jonathan Allison. “I am pleased with our boys jumping out in front and controlling the tempo of the game.”
Well-rounded support was evident throughout the 32-minute jousting and many of the starters-to-come found themselves thrust into the limelight in the season opener. Robbinsville’s starters kept the reserves just as hyped from the bench once the outcome was all but determined; the gym almost shook off its recently-repaired foundation when Peyton Brooks checked in during the fourth quarter, promptly snagged an inbound, turned and sank a flat-footed bucket.
It was that kind of energy that led to a bevy of standout performances from the Black Knights. When the final buzzer sounded, Cameron Allison led the charge with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals. Absolutely no one in black and gold had any solution for the reigning Smoky Mountain Conference boys cross-country champion, as Xamuel Wachacha ran amuck and collected 12 points, plus eight steals.
Landen Eddings politely returned four offensive rebounds through the net for an 8-point evening (he pulled down 10 rebounds and nabbed two steals, as well); while Bam Nelms also reached the 8-point mark, wrapped around four steals and three assists.
Rounding out the effort was Eli Lambert with four points; and Brooks’ aforementioned basket.
Lady Knights
Robbinsville Middle School’s first basketball game of the campaign is also susceptible to a simple descriptor: heartbreaking.
The Lady Knights had the game well in-hand, starting on a 9-0 run. Zaelyn Phillips was a nuisance for Murphy to contend with all night, whether on defense or dribbling toward the basket; both Zachlan and Zayleigh Chekeleelee kept the Lady Bulldogs reeling with a respective, lethal mixture of stubborn defense, inside and out; while Daphne Barlow, Jayden Chekeleelee and Cassidy Sudderth zipped up-and-down the floor in a tenacious display of athleticism that successfully kept Murphy guessing.
For the first half, that is.
The visitors awoke from their dog nap in the second quarter, going from a 12-4 deficit to a 30-19 mark at halftime. Murphy then swished multiple clutch shots in transition throughout the third and fourth, with the shocking go-ahead coming with 10 seconds left to play: C.J. Yarbro’s 2-pointer, which gave the Bulldogs the lead for the first time in the contest.
Murphy’s 10-second lead was all that was needed to stymie Robbinsville’s attempted reply, as the clock ran out with the Lady Dogs on top 47-46.
“Down the stretch, we had a couple of turnovers that hurt us,” Lady Knights head coach Brittany Snider said. “It was a tough loss, but it’s back to work tomorrow.”
Phillips finished the afternoon with 14 points, five steals, three rebounds and an assist. Zayleigh Chekeleelee pieced together 10 points (including a trio of trey’s) with six rebounds, five steals and two assists; she was followed closely behind by Sudderth, who ended the game with nine points, two rebounds and two steals.
Also scoring for Robbinsville was Barlow 8, Jayden Chekeleelee 3 and Zachlan Chekeleelee 2.