Hayesville Boys Wins Crazy Game at Swain

Ethan Hooper nails a three pointer with a defender all over him.

The Hayesville boys basketball team’s incredible ride continues as the Yellow Jackets beat Swain Tuesday evening. It was an insane environment playing at Swain with multiple adult and student fans from Swain getting thrown out of the game. One of Swain’s best players also got two technicals resulting in his ejection. Hayesville championship composure showed through as the Yellow Jackets remained calm, cool, and collected. This allowed the Yellow Jackets to run away with the game in the second half, winning 80-55.

Kolbe Ashe directs the Hayesville offense.

1st Quarter:

Hayesville got out to a great start taking an early lead in the first quarter, stretching their lead out to 7-0. However, it did not last for long as Swain took control in the middle part of the quarter and forced several turnovers. This allowed the Maroon Devils to take the lead, stretching it as large as seven points. The Maroon Devils would never have a larger lead than this. Two back-to-back threes, including one at the buzzer by Kolbe Ashe, gave Hayesville the lead back at the end of the quarter 22-20.

2nd Quarter:

Swain would take another lead back early in the quarter but never stretch it out by more than two points. The two teams would go back and forth for much of the quarter, with things getting a little crazy at the end of the quarter. With about three minutes left in the quarter, Hayesvilles Logan Caldwell tried to save a ball as it was going out of bounds. He was then shoved by a Swain student from their student section. Nothing was called, but there was a scrum for the ball at half court a few moments later. Caldwell was shoved well after the whistle by Swains Donnavin Groenewold. He was assessed a technical, and from this point forward, Hayesville controlled the rest of the quarter and really the rest of the game.

Logan Caldwell hits a corner three pointer.

2nd Half:

Hayesville started the quarter with a 36-30 lead but quickly built their lead, which forced Swain to call a timeout. As the timeout was called, Groenewold got near the ref and apparently said something the official did not like. He was assessed his second technical of the night, which ejected him from the game. Swain could not get much of anything going offensively without their star guard from that point forward. Hayesville forced their will from that point forward, winning 80-55.

Game Notes:

Kolbe Ashe and Jake McTaggart look every bit of the star duo Hayesville fans have come to expect. They combined for 50 points, almost outscoring all of Swain by themselves. With each player having won an SMC player of the year in their career, they might be in a two-man race for the award this year.
The frustration from the Swain team and fanbase was evident; Swain gave Hayesville their best shot before their star’s ejection. Yet even before the ejection, their best shot was not good enough to beat Hayesville.
Having overheard one Hayesville fan comment after the game saying, “this is what a #1 team in the state looks like.”

Hayesville Unofficial stats:

Kolbe Ashe 27 points

Jake Mctaggart 23 points, 24 rebounds, 5 blocks

Postgame Quote from Hayesville Head Coach Michael Cottrell:

“Quality win on the road in a tough environment, a late-season win like that shows we are maturing. I am excited about the next few games.”

The Yellow Jackets will next play on Friday, February 3rd, at Cherokee. The game on Friday will be covered live on fyntv.com. To get updates or see how the Yellow Jackets have done, tune in to all the latest Team FYN sports coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at https://claync.fetchyournews.com/category/teamfynsport

Caleb Tallman