Hayesville Boys Battle Adversity to Advance to SMC Finals

Ashe Brown fights through traffic for two points.

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets faced some adversity Monday night with some difficult refereeing. Foul trouble plagued Yellow Jacket star Kolbe Ashe and had him at his season-low in minutes against good competition. Hayesville battled for four quarters, though, and even without their star point guard for much of the game, found a win. A big night from fellow star Jake Mctaggart powered the Yellow Jackets to their 66-51 win over Andrews to earn a chance at the conference tournament title.

Logan Caldwell floats through traffic while making a perfect pass.

1st Half:

The game started with Kolbe Ashe getting three fouls in about the first two minutes. This sent him to the bench with several questionable calls on him. Yet the Yellow Jackets, even without Ashe, found a way to maintain their lead. Guys like Asher Brown, Kyle Lunsford, and Logan Caldwell stepped up without Ashe on the court. This allowed Jake Mctaggart enough room inside to do some major damage, with the Wildcats not having anyone who could match up with him. It was a low-scoring first half, but it saw Hayesville take a 26-22 lead into the halftime break.

2nd Half:

Hayesville was able to keep their lead while they waited for Ashe to get back on the court. Once he did a little over halfway into the third quarter, it spelled doom for Andrews. With Hayesville still holding the lead and getting Ashe back, the whole tone of the game changed. Ashe and Mctaggart combined for 29 points in the second half matching the Wildcat’s entire second half scoring by themselves. With Ashe’s return and his combination with Mctaggart left Andrews behind in the fourth quarter, winning 66-51 to advance to the SMC tournament final.

Jake Mctaggart slams one down against Andrews.

Hayesville Leading Scorers:

Jake Mctaggart 27 points

Kolbe Ashe 14 points

Asher Brown 11 points

Hayesville Head Coach Michael Cottrell Quotes:

“I thought it was good for us as a team; we need to play those games right now, so nothing surprises us in the state tournament.”

“Our team is weathered. We have had a few like this. We had to do it without Kolbe on the floor for a long stretch. It was uncomfortable for me, it was uncomfortable for the team, it showed a little, but we held the lead and did some good things.”

Hayesville will play in the conference tournament final Friday, February 18th, against the winner of tonight’s Swain, Robbinsville game. 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