Basketball Game Preview: Hayesville Yellowjackets vs. Cherokee Braves

Hayesville and Cherokee are an even 5-5 against one another since February of 2021, but not for long. The Hayesville Yellowjackets will welcome the Cherokee Braves at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. One thing working in Hayesville's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last ten contests.

Hayesville is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Blue Ridge Early College: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that Hayesville blew Blue Ridge Early College out of the water with a 69-27 final score. The match was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 42-15.

Meanwhile, Cherokee suffered their biggest defeat since December 7, 2023 on Wednesday. They had to suffer through a 92-58 loss at the hands of A.C. Reynolds. While losing is never fun, the Braves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 433rd, while the Rockets are ranked 147th).

Hayesville has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 8-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 72.3 points per game. As for Cherokee, their loss ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 7-6.

Things could have been worse for Hayesville, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 70-52 loss to Cherokee in their previous meeting back in December of 2024. Will Hayesville have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.