Maroon Devils basketball defeats Smoky

Larry Griffin

lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com

The Maroon Devils basketball team got off to a rousing start Tuesday night, Nov. 28, as they defeated the Smoky Mountain Mustangs in a close 64-58 game in which the scoring for both teams kept going until the final seconds.

The team played strong, passing the ball in long formations with a quickness of the foot and throws made from all angles. The Mustangs were an even match as the teams fought hard over the ball, maneuvering, keeping tight hands as opponents came in for the steal.

Players on both sides were quick to steal the ball away as their opponents tried to pass it among themselves, sending the players running down the line in a gaggle toward the other side of the field to intercept one another.

The Devils were able to eke out an upper hand early on, as the first quarter came to an end with a score of 6-5.

The scoring kept escalating after that and often came fast – when the Mustangs got the ball in, the Devils shot back and got it in again themselves, and vice versa. Sometimes the players made long runs and close jumps and other times they took shots from further out in the field, passing the ball nimbly to avoid their opponents.

Several times during the game, the Devils’ Aidan Southards, a junior, was able to get a long lead on opponents, striding down the field at a comfortable run and dunking the ball in right up at the net before any Mustangs could catch up to him.

Often the field was a fray of players blocking one another and ducking around and under opponents to get a clear shot.

The game was neck-and-neck the whole time, as the Devils scored and the Mustangs were often right behind them, never clear who would emerge victorious even right up to the final minutes of the last quarter.

After the game, Swain Coach Scotty McMahan said it was “a big testament” that they’d been able to best the Mustangs. “They’ve always traditionally had a good program,” he said. “I’m proud of our efforts.”

McMahan said the team had been dealing with some injuries and knew “it was gonna be a challenge” coming into the game. He also offered some critiques of his own coaching job that he said he’d work to remedy as the season continued.

“I’ve got to do a better job as far as finding some better rotations,” he said. “Maybe we can get some guys a bit more of a break, but its game one, it’s a long season. We’ve got 23 more of these before we play the tournament.”

The next Devils game is against Franklin on Saturday, Dec. 2 at home.

“That’ll be a test to see where we’re at and see if we can get better,” McMahan said, adding that they “can’t build any type of complacency.”