On Wednesday night the Hayesville Yellow Jackets traveled to Rosman to take on the Cherokee Braves in the conference tournament final. This was on short notice as potential winter weather moved all these championship games from Friday to Wednesday night. Hayesville was looking to avenge their only conference loss of the year when Cherokee upset them last week. Hayesville played with consistency and poise all night long leading to their 62-47 point victory.

Junior Blakes McClure drives strong to the rim.

In the first quarter Cherokee came out firing hitting some early threes. Hayesville didn’t quite have their offense running smoothly early in the game but were able to keep it close. While it felt like Cherokee had outplayed the Yellow Jackets in the first quarter somehow they only led by 1 point at the end of the quarter 17-16. 

In the second quarter Hayesvilles consistent play started to push Cherokee and they couldn’t keep up. Cherokee is a very streaky team in terms of their offense. If your defense falters they will quickly put up five threes on you and take a double digit lead. At times though due to lack of offensive structure they struggle to find easy points. Hayesvilles great defense and rebounding really negatively affected Cherokee. 

Give credit to sophomore Kolbe Ashe he did not come off the floor a single time on this night as is often the case. His poise and leadership is a big reason for the Yellow Jackets consistency. While he doesnt always put up flashy numbers he is the conductor of the train for Hayesville basketball. All this led to Hayesville having a 27-26 lead going into halftime.

Sophomore Kolbe Ashe sets up the offense.

In the third quarter Hayesville really started to force their will on the opponent and was flat out outplaying them. They were getting defensive stops, outrebounding the Braves and executing well on offense. With a few late shots though Cherokee was able to cut the lead to seven, trailing the Yellow Jackets 44-37 going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter it appeared Hayesville was getting ready to run away with it, the referees stepped and made sure that wouldn’t happen. In fairness it was one referee calling two technicals and allowing a lay up to count for Cherokee well after the whistle was blown for the second technical. This gave Cherokee an undeserved 8 point run and gave them a 1 point lead. 

Hayesville overcame the run though and battled through adversity to regain control of the game. Running their patented flex offense on three straight possessions, the cousin duo of juniors Blake and Hayden McClure went on their own little run. Each possession Blake hit Hayden on a cut to block with Hayden finishing each layup opportunity. This gave Hayden 6 straight points and Blake 3 straight assists. Hayesville hit free throws down the stretch and ended up winning handily 62-47.

Junior Hayden McClure muscles through an opponent for a score.

Hayesville leaders for the night:

Jake McTaggart 18 points

Hayden McClure 14 points

Kolbe Ashe 13 points

Brady Shook 8 points 11 rebounds

Hayesville will next play NCHSAA state playoffs but the opponent is unknown at this time. Check the fynsports social media sites for updates on games and game times which are scheduled to be released sunday afternoon.

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