The 5 seeded Hayesville Yellow Jackets will be hosting the 12 seeded Pine Lake Prep Pride. Hayesville is coming off a comfortable round one win over Swain Co. 68-48. While Pine Lake had a first round battle with Bishop Mcguinness winning 58-57. Hayesville being the higher seed gets the advantage of hosting the game along with what anticipates to be a great crowd. 

Playoff Bracket

Hayesville is the supposed favorite in this game and one would think if they play their best they should be able to win. Hayesville has been playing good but not great basketball as of late but is on the rise and may be peaking at the right time. Pine Lake Prep finished the season only winning three out their last six. Yet they found a way to win in the first round in a matchup that many thought they may get upset. 

Assistant coach Keith Thompson said that Pine Lake is great transition team that loves to run. So they will need to get back on defense as well as rebound the ball well tonight to improve their chance of winning. 

Here is what Pine Lake Prep Pride coach Tony Dunbar had to say about tonight’s game:

1. What do you know about your 2nd round opponent Hayesville?

We know Hayesville finished the regular season with a good record.  Ashe and McTaggert seem to be the guys the get and keep them going. They are also a well coached/disciplined team.

2. Describe your team a little, what do you do well, do you play fast slow like to press etc.

We do a lot of things well.  Probably one of our best traits is our toughness.  We are not only physically tough; we are one of the most mentally tough teams in the state.

3. How is your team’s overall health coming into this game?

We are fully healthy at this point in the season, which is very rare.

4. What does your team need to do to win on Thursday?

We need to play the Pine Lake way.  If we capitalize on our strengths and limit Hayesville’s opportunities, we should be very successful.

Pine Lake boasts a 6-5 junior wing in Jacob Morgan who is averaging 19.1 points per game. It will be interesting to see who the Yellow Jackets matchup with him tonight due to his size. Perhaps Hayesville may go zone tonight as we saw Tuesday when they played Swain Co. One advantage Hayesville has, is Pine Lake has a four plus hour bus ride today. It would be good to see the Yellow Jackets get off to a good start and get the crowd going early. 

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