Murphy Bulldogs Defeat Swain County in both Girls and Boys games

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Last second 3-Pointer Thriller lifts the Bulldogs past Swain County’s Maroon Devils in Boys Play

 

By Brandon Stephens

(Bryson City) – – The sun even shines on a Bulldog’s backside some days, which was today (Friday, February 4, 2022).  Murphy was down 68-to-71 with 17.2 seconds left in the game.  A Swain County free throw from Donnavin Growenwold and a two-point jump shot from Murphy’s Hunter Laney set the stage for the Maroon Devils to run out the clock and win the game 72-t

o-70.  Swain County’s in-bound pass went out of bounds and turned the ball over to the Bulldogs.  After a time out to discuss strategy, Murphy hustled up the court, expecting to run a play, but point-guard Dillian Brown closely covered ended up with the ball out of play sequence.  Dillian’s shot was a little off but banked off the backboard and fell through the net to give Murphy a 73-to-72 win over Swain County at the buzzer.  With Murphy losing three of the last four games, the shot gave every Bulldog in the Swain County’s gym a blast of sunshine, and maybe a little sunburn.

 

The Murphy Bulldogs did not have the best start to this game.  Murphy shot 37% in the first period on only eight shots while Swain County took 24 shots and made eight to lead 17-to-7 over the Bulldogs.  This was the trend through out the game.  Murphy’s shooting percentage continued to rise through the rest of the game to 60% in the final quarter.  The biggest difference was the shots made by Swain County were choice, including Donnavin Groenewold’s opening the third period with 5 3-Pointers.  Dillian Brown and Cole Laney countered Groenewold’s 3-Point Clinic with five 3-Pointers collectively in the second half.  The game was up tempo and at some point, both Swain and Murphy appeared to take random shots and allowed the defense to pick up the rebound.  Murphy stayed close to Swain County with some improved offensive rebounding in the fourth quarter.

Not a pretty game to see in the first half, but the need to win fueled the desire and worked to inspire the Murphy Boys basketball team says point guard Dillian Brown.  “We have needed this game (win over Swain) more than any game we have needed (to win) because we are on a losing streak.  Our Boys, we didn’t play such a good first half, but the second half we came out and we fought hard as we could,” Brown stated after the game.  What about the last second shot Dillian?  “We didn’t have any timeouts left and we were planning on running one of our corner plays.  Ty (Laney) threw the ball to me, and I had to shoot it.  Luckily it banked in,” Brown explains.  The win will help build confidence and energy to go to next week’s home game with Andrews (Tuesday, February 8, 2022), which will be Senior Night.  Following the Andrews game, Murphy will prepare for the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament, which will be hosted by Swain County.  Dillian Brown’s full comments can be heard at the link in this story.

The next game for Murphy is with Andrews, who defeated Robbinsville on Friday night.  Murphy will honor Seniors Hunter Laney and Juan Allen.

Leading Scorers   

Murphy (in order as listed in the scorer’s book)

Dillian Brown – 21 Points (5 3-Pointers)

Hunter Laney – 10 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Dozer Mashburn – 12 Points (2 3_Pointers)

Zack Skogen – 2 Points

Cole Laney – 8 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Dominick Rummler – 10 Points

Will Carringer – 10 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Swain County (in order as listed in the scorer’s book)

Carter Kirkland – 17 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Donnavin Groenewold – 24 points (6 3-Pointers)

Cameron Blankenship – 2 Points

Cooper Hyatt – 9 Points (1 3-Pointers)

Charlie Collins – 6 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Isaiah Collins – 14 Points

 

Lady Bulldogs take a 19-Point Win over Swain County

Good shooting early in the game paved the way for Murphy’s Lady Bulldogs to a 56-to-37 win over Swain County’s Lady Maroon Devils.  The actual shooting percentage for Swain County (67%) was better than Murphy’s 58 percent.  The shots being made by Murphy counted 3 points rather than 2 points.  Torin Rogers, Amber Martin, and Lailee Holloway capitalized on good outside shooting during the first half.  Starting the Second Period, Murphy and Swain could not make a shot fall for a three-minute period.  Murphy’s Addie Johnson broke the drought and helped the Lady Bulldogs build a 5-point lead at the half 29-to-24.  Murphy and Swain traded baskets through the first half of the third period until the Lady Bulldogs started pulling away with 2:45 remaining.  Swain County had 8 turnovers that helped push Murphy to a 46-to-28 advantage at the end of the Third Period.  Murphy’s scoring went cold in the Fourth Period with the Lady Bulldogs shooting 25% scoring 10 points.  While the opportunity was at hand to take over, Swain County could not find the shots either and scored 11 points.

The 19-point win for Murphy may appear like it was an easy game.  It was not and never has been easy to win at a place like Swain County as Head Coach Ray Gutierrez explains.  “It’s tough to win on the road in our conference.  Swain County.  This is one of the places we don’t play very well here.  We got off to a slow start.  We settled down and a credit to them (Swain County), they have gotten better.  Last time we played them it was a 30-point game (win for Murphy).  Coach (Joshua) Griffith (Swain County Lady Maroon Devils Coach) does a good job, and their kids are starting to play hard and so they are a much better team that what their record shows,” Gutierrez stated after the game.  Coach Gutierrez stated he is proud of the Lady Bulldogs, who will be top seeded for the Smoky Mountain Conference tournament and for the seniors playing their last regular season home game.  “I think we are proven.  We are the best team and in the best conference in the state.  That means a lot for us.  The top four teams (in the SMC) can beat any given team any night,” Gutierrez added.  Coach Ray Gutierrez full comments can be heard at the link in this story.

Leading Scorers

Murphy Lady Bulldogs (in order as listed in the scorer’s book)

Lochlan Rogers – 7 Points

Calista Adams – 2 Points

Torin Rogers – 23 Points (3 3-Pointers)

Addie Johnson – 9 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Amber Martin – 5 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Lailee Holloway 10 Points (2 3-Pointers)

 

Swain County (in order as listed in the scorer’s book)

Amaya Hicks – 3 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Kiersten Smith – 3 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Mazie Helpman – 12 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Mya Burrows-Kurr – 5 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Madison Spates – 6 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Savana Smith – 6 Points

Haileigh Woodard – 2 Points

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