The Franklin Panthers are still undefeated this season after their contest against the Rabun County Wildcats on Tuesday, but the Rabun County Wildcats came as close as anyone has to beating them. Franklin sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 77-74 victory over Rabun County. Given Franklin's advantage in MaxPreps's basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 74th in North Carolina, while Rabun County is ranked 354th in Georgia), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Franklin to victory, but perhaps none more so than Noah Brannon, who scored 23 points. The match was Brannon's fourth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of William Rauers, who scored 18 points along with 3 steals.
Despite the loss, Rabun County saw an underclassman step up: Huey Blalock dropped a double-double on 25 points and 11 assists. The matchup was Blalock's seventh in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Jack Hood, who scored 12 points.
Even though they lost, Rabun County were working as a unit and finished the game with 18 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Franklin only racked up ten.
Franklin's victory bumped their record up to 4-0. As for Rabun County, they are on a five-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Franklin will take on Hayesville at 8:00 p.m. on Friday. Hayesville has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 217 points over their last three games. As for Rabun County, they will look to defend their home court on Friday against Rabun Gap-Nacoochee at 8:00 p.m. One thing working in Rabun Gap-Nacoochee's favor is that they have posted big point totals in their last seven contests.
