-
Cameron Blankenship swooshes a basket
Hannah Styles
hstyles@thesmokymountaintimes.com
Last Wednesday, Swain played their rescheduled game with Cherokee, and it was not a game to miss. The stands were packed with Swain and Cherokee fans and you could sense the rivalry in the air.
Senior Donnavin Groenewold started the scoring off for Swain with a three pointer in the first few minutes of the game. This would be one of many for Groenewold that night.
Cherokee answered that score with a two-point score of their own shortly after, setting the pace for a back and forth game. In the first quarter more scores came from senior Isaiah Collins, sophomore Josh Collins, senior Cameron Blankenship, and back-to-back scores from Groenewold. The first quarter ended with 23-9 and Swain in the lead.
Isaiah Collins scored two points in the beginning of the second half, followed by a three pointer by senior Cooper Hyatt, Groenewold, Isaiah Collins, and two points from Groenewold.
Right before halftime, Hyatt shot a “buzzer beater” from behind half court that spun around the rim twice before falling out, as the crowd gasped. Even though the basket didn’t make it, it still fired up the crowd. The Devils went into the half with 42-22.
Straight out of the third quarter, Isaiah Collins opened with back-to-back baskets in addition to a rebound in his third block of the game. Shortly after Blankenship scored a three, along with Hyatt and two points by Carter Kirkland.
The most heated quarter was definitely the final, as Swain seemed to be trying to play “keep-away” to run out the clock but let Cherokee score several times in the process, making it the closest quarter of the game, but Kirkland and Cooper Hyatt both scored as well as several foul shots for most players bringing the final win to 82-62.
“I thought our guys did a great job coming out with a sense of purpose. We are starting to see some of the stuff we have been working on pay off,” Coach Scotty McMahan said. “I thought our defense was the best it has been in several games. The energy in the gymnasium was great. Our student section was loud and rowdy which helped fuel our guys.”
During the game, Groenewold got a career high of 30 points, Isaiah Collins had 23 points and 13 rebounds, Hyatt had 12 points, three assists and four steals, and Kirkland had 10 points and four assists.