The Win Crowns Murphy Lady Bulldogs Regular Season Conference Champions

By Brandon Stephens

(Murphy) – – The Murphy Bulldog Seniors were honored in fine fashion as the basketball teams finished up its Girls and Boys regular season games with wins against the Andrews Wildcats.  Murphy will lose three Seniors this year from both squads.  The Lady Bulldogs will lose outside sharp-shooter Amber Martin; the agile and daring Calista Adams; and all-star Torin Rogers, who will play for the Richmond Spiders in the fall.  The Bulldogs Boys basketball team saluted the team’s spirit-lifting Juan Allen; all-sport Payton McCracken; and the tall and laid-back Hunter Laney, who was anything but laid back against Andrews.

Murphy Lady Bulldog Seniors (From Left to Right) Calista Adams, Torin Rogers, Amber Martin

Murphy High Senior Basketball Players (From Left to Right) Hunter Laney, Payton McCracken, Juan Allen

Murphy 67 Andrews 61 (Boys)

You could tell from the early moments this was going to be Murphy Senior Hunter Laney’s night to shine and lead the Bulldogs to a win in its final game and leave his mark on the floor, as it may be one of the last times the team plays at home.  Inside, outside, and on the free-throw line Hunter didn’t miss many shots and was daunting to the Wildcat opponents.  A few fancy reverse layups, a few straight on shots, and a thrilling three let the crowd know he could play ball with the best.  He helped set the tempo in the first period, with the team shooting 45% from the floor.  Add some help from Will Carringer, Dominick Rummler, and a three from Dillian Brown and the Bulldogs had the early 16-to-10 lead and didn’t let it go.  The usual night of seeing 20-plus points from Junior Dillian Brown didn’t show.  Speaking to Dillian, he was excited and proud of his team saying, “This was a great night for Hunter and ever better night for our team as we needed this good balanced performance.  We need this for later in the week.”  Brown noting the up coming Smoky Mountain Conference.

Murphy accelerated the tempo slightly and stepped up its shooting to 60% in the second period to take a 35-to-27 lead at the half.  The first half performance had to spark some adjustment and inspiring works at halftime from Andrews Coach Matthew Maennle.  Andrews was riding a good 55-to-50 win over the Robbinsville Black nights from this past Friday and needed that energy to pull themselves past Murphy.

The Wildcats held the Bulldogs shooting to 38% and placed Kegan Ellis a little closer to Dillian Brown.  Andrews also had a 3-point jumpstart to it second half with Ellis making almost all of his 3-point shots.  Kegan shot 7-of-9 from the beyond the three-point arc to keep the Wildcats close, and almost took Murphy down to the wire with 2:04 left and the Bulldogs were only leading 63-to-58.  Through most of the second half, Murphy held a double-digit lead over Andrews.  Murphy worked to control the ball and melt the clock and get to a 67-to-61 win.  According to the latest published records, Murphy will end the regular season 11-and-12 and 4-and 7 in conference play.  Andrews will record an 11-and-11 record and 3-and-7 conference mark.

The balanced game and good team effort was praised by Senior Hunter Laney after the game.  “It was good.  It was good to get the family out here and represent Murphy and do a great job during the game.  It was pretty tough, but I think we dominated at the post in the first half.  We really got a lot of shots down there.”  To keep the game in control Hunter said he and other had to shift the defense to lower the threat of the Wildcats outside shot.  “We had to change our defense where I stay up there (high post) and stayed in his face because it was a better defense for us.” Laney added.  Hunter’s interview can be accessed through the link in this story.

Boys Scoring (Listed as it appears in the score book)

Murphy

Wyatt Simmons – 2 Points

Dillian Brown – 6 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Hunter Laney – 19 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Zack Skogen – 13 Points

Dominick Rummler – 12 Points

Ty Laney – 2 Points

Will Carringer – 11 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Andrews

Cam Rattler – 16 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Kegan Ellis – 23 Points (7 3-Pointers)

Isaac Weaver – 8 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Donovan Bateman – 2 Points

Ty Clark – 9 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Graham Burch – 1 Point

Murphy 64 Andrews 9 (Girls)

The Murphy Lady Bulldogs ends its regular season with a win over Andrews and moves to 19-and-3.  Murphy has been working on its shooting and reaching for a balanced team approach to success.  The Lady Bulldogs had a slower start to its game, shooting 22%, which eventually changed in the second period to 70%.

The win over Andrews helped Murphy exercise the Lady Bulldog bench and get more participation from each player.  That is something Lady Bulldog Head Coach Ray Gutierrez had been wanting to see since the game against Highlands.  Coach Gutierrez says it was a special night for the Seniors and for continuing to build the team.  “Tonight, was a special night.  We celebrated our three seniors.  They mean a tremendous amount to our team.  It was very emotion.  I thought we got off to a slow start and didn’t shoot it very well.  I am extremely proud to finish the regular season as Smoky Mountain Conference Champions.  It’s a credit to our very special Seniors,” Gutierrez said after the Andrews win.  Coach Gutierrez’s comments can be heard at the link in this story.

Girls Scoring (Listed as it appears in the score book)

Murphy

Lochlan Rogers – 8 Points

Calista Adams – 2 Points

Julia Dockery – 3 Points

Torin Rogers – 16 Points

Addie Johnson – 13 Points (3 3-Pointers)

Amber Martin – 3 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Lailee Holloway – 9 (1 3-Pointer)

Charli McDaniel – 2 Points

Emma Ledford – 9 Points (3 3-Pointers)

Andrews

Kylie Donaldson – 2 Points

Kaylin Ellis – 2 Points

Emily Mealer – 5 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament

(Bryson City) – – Swain County High School will host the conference tournament this year.  Games will start on Thursday, February 10^th, including Junior Varsity Games.  Details on the schedule have not been posted at the time this story was written.  Please stay in touch with Team FYN Sports, FYNTV.com, and our Facebook and Twitter posts for details.