The Maroon Devils did the improbable Tuesday by handing the Yellow Jackets their first conference loss in two seasons. Swain hung on down the stretch and took a 56-53 win in front of a large and vocal home crowd.
After leading since midway through the first quarter the Devils fell behind with just under a minute to play. Raymius Smith answered though, the junior point guard drove the paint and scored and was fouled on left handed layup. Smith’s free throw gave the Devils a two point lead. Matthew Maennle stretched it to 3 points as he made 1 of 2 free throws following a Hayesville turnover.
With 10 seconds remaining the Yellow Jackets ran a set play to get their freshman standout Zach Cottrell a three point attempt. But with a couple of different Maroon Devils to challenge the shot it missed its mark and left no time on the clock.
Matthew Maennle paced Swain with a game high 25 points.
Complete box score –
Hayesville (53)
Isaac Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Cass Coleman 7-15 2-5 16, Clint Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Rhineharst 2-6 2-2 6, Peyton Long 0-1 0-0 0, Braxton Cox 0-3 0-0 0, Dylan Williams 2-4 0-1 4, DayDay Williams 1-3 1-2 4, Zach Cottrell 9-13 0-3 21. Totals 20-46 5-13 49
Swain (56)
Cody Epps 0-0 0-0 0, Matthew Maennle 8-11 6-12 25, Clay Young 0-1 0-0 0, Greg Tisho 5-13 0-0 10, Raymius Smith 4-7 2-5 10, Jamy Oocuma 0-0 0-0 0, Tanner Burrell 1-2 0-2 2, Corbin Panther 3-8 2-2 9. Totals 20-42 10-21 54
| SCORE BY PERIODS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | TOTAL |
| Hayesville | 16 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 53 |
| Swain | 22 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 56 |
FG%: Hayesville .435, Swain .476. 3-pt FG:Hayesville 4-17 (Coleman 0-5, Rhineharst 0-1, Long 0-1, Cox 0-2, Williams 1-3, Cottrell 3-5), Swain 4-10 (Maennle 3-7, Smith 0-2, Panther 1-1). Rebounds: Hayesville 33 (TEAM 14), Swain 26 (Tisho 8). Fouls Hayesville 17, Swain 16. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: Hayesville 1 (Williams 1), Swain 3 (Maennle 2). Steals: Hayesville 0, Swain 2 (Maennle 2). Blocked shots: Hayesville 0, Swain 1 (Burrell 1). Turnovers: Hayesville 5, Swain 4. Attendance: 0.