Third Time is the Charm for Andrews to win over the Murphy Bulldogs

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Lights out shooting and defense from the Wildcats stop the Bulldogs

 

By Brandon Stephens

 

(Bryson City) – – The Andrews Wildcats are rolling to a second-round appearance in the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament with the Hayesville Yellow Jackets.  The Wildcats received their advance to go in a 74-to-67 win over the Murphy Bulldogs.  They stepped on to the court all business with strong full court press and 50% shooting.  The shooting may not sound impressive but consider the fact Andrews shots from the floor were mostly 3-pointers, that made the impact needed to take the early lead and maintain the momentum to keep the Bulldogs struggling to get back in the game.

The Murphy Bulldogs did not go quietly into the night.  Like Tuesday nights game in Murphy, Senior Hunter Laney kept the team paced with Andrews knocking down some inside shots and a couple of 3-pointers.  At key times Dozer Mashburn, Zack Skogen, and Cole Laney popped a few 3-pointers to balance the scoring.  Andrew’s shooting cooled off in the second period.  The Andrews Wildcats held an eight-point lead at the half 35-to-27.

Murphy turnovers and 18% shooting in the third period opened the door for Andrews to build its lead.  Each Bulldog turnover translated to guaranteed points for the Wildcats.  Murphy went on a two-minute dry spell of scoring and began to be more physical, which placed the Wildcats on the line three times.  Murphy only scored 7 points in the third while allowing Andrews to score 11.  Andrews was nearly 100% from the floor in the fourth and almost scored more points from the free-throw line.  The dagger for Murphy came when Hunter Laney and Will Carringer fouled out of the game.  Leading up to leaving the game Carringer hit three 3-pointers to help cut the Andrews lead to 6 points with 1:36 to go in the game.  The loss of the inside outside play from Laney and Carringer was missed.  Dillian Brown finally got on the board with 13 points, which included three 3-pointers.  Andrews picked up 14 points on free-throws alone to help seal the game.

Four players were in double figures for Andrews.  It was a solid team effort of good defense, shooting, and team play, which was not quite the same scheme Murphy saw on Tuesday night.  Andrews Head Basketball Coach Matthew Maennle stated the good defense has been the Wildcats bread and butter this season.  “We got off to a good start.  We shot the ball a lot better than we have been.  The main thing was our kids’ effort.  They played incredibly hard on both sides of the court.  Tuesday, we got beat a lot in inside.  They stepped up and did what they needed to do to get the win,” Coach Maennle said after the game.  Coach Maennle’s full comments can be heard at the link in this story.

Andrews is scheduled to face the Hayesville Yellow Jackets on Monday night at 8PM.  Stay connected to Team FYN Sports for the latest updates schedules for the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament.

Scoring (As it appears in score book)

Andrews

Austin Martin – 6 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Cameron Rattler – 15 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Kegan Ellis – 11 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Isaac Weaver – 19 Points (3 3-Pointers)

Donovan Bateman – 22 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Ty Clark – 6 Points

 

Murphy

Dillian Brown – 13 Points (3 3-Pointers)

Hunter Laney – 18 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Dozer Mashburn – 3 Points (1 3-Pointer)

Zack Skogen – 10 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Cole Laney – 8 Points (2 3-Pointers)

Dominick Rummler – 2 Points

Ty Laney – 3 Points

Will Carringer – 10 Points (3 3-Pointers)

 

Statistics compiled by Brandon Stephens.

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