Basketball Recap: Murphy Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Tyler Payne and Cale Harger

After flying high against Swain County last Friday, Murphy came back down to earth. The Murphy Bulldogs took a 55-45 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Andrews Wildcats on Tuesday. The game marked the Bulldogs' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Despite the defeat, Murphy had strong showings from Cale Harger, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Tyler Payne, who posted 11 points and seven boards. That's the most boards Payne has posted since back in December of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Abram Twiggs, who scored six points and nine rebounds.

Even though they lost, Murphy smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 14 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive rebounds in seven consecutive contests.

Andrews found their leader in sophomore Gabe Clark, who went 8 of 18 en route to 27 points and five assists. Another player making a difference was Braxton Rickett, who earned seven points and ten boards.

Murphy has been struggling recently as they've lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 10-8 record this season. As for Andrews, they have been performing well recently as they've won 12 of their last 15 matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.

Murphy didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 60-45 win against Hiwassee Dam on the 6th. As for Andrews, they will take on Hayesville 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 11 games.