Murphy hasn't had much luck against Robbinsville recently, but that could start to change on Tuesday. The Murphy Bulldogs will challenge the Robbinsville Black Knights at 8:00 p.m. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, the two teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Murphy's tournament run continued when they took on Hayesville on Saturday. Murphy secured a 59-54 W over Hayesville. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bulldogs.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Murphy to victory, but perhaps none more so than Abram Twiggs, who almost dropped a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Another player making a difference was Ryan Payne, who posted nine points and eight assists.
Meanwhile, Robbinsville waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with 12 straight wins... but they left with 13. They strolled past the Yellowjackets with points to spare, taking the game 65-49.
Murphy better keep an eye on Bryce Adams. He was instrumental in Robbinsville's win, dropping a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Adams has been hot for a while, having posted eight or more boards the last 18 times he's played. Dane Knott was another key player, putting up 14 points.
Robbinsville pushed their record up to 18-5 with the victory, which was their sixth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.3 points over those games. As for Murphy, their record is now 14-10.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Murphy has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 31.8 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Robbinsville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 38.7 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.
Murphy came up short against Robbinsville when the teams last played back in January, falling 60-55. Can Murphy avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
