Bryson City – It was a daunting task to open your season against a team ranked in the top 10 in the State. The Maroon Devils were up to the task on Friday. Hayesville used a 17-8 run over the first 8 minutes of the second half to take control and notch a 71-60 win. Swain bolted out to a 20-17 1st quarter lead, and outside of the 3rd quarter stayed toe-to-toe with the Smoky Mountain Conference defending champion and heavy pre-season favorite Hayesville.
The game, which was much closer than the final score indicated, was played at a frantic pace. Both teams utilized their benches to maximum effect. Swain Coach Scotty McMahan used all 10 of his players, with 9 of those scoring in the game.
Newcomer Evan Bradley paced the Devils with a team high 21 points. Bradley made good on 5 of his 9 3-point shots, pacing the Devils to 44% shooting from beyond the arc. Grant Shuler added 13 points for Swain. Shuler and Angel Bowers pulled down 6 rebounds each, while Zeke Bradley had 5. Evan Bradley dished out a team high 4 assists, while Shuler and Clayton Catolster added 2 each.
Swain will hit the road on tuesday, for their first road game of the season, as they travel to Murphy.