Panther men’s hoops have advanced to the Mountain Seven Conference Tournament.
On the week of Feb. 5, the team played their final games of the regular season, traveling to Smoky Mountain and hosting West Henderson and Swain. With two wins in a record-setting week for junior guard Max McClure, Franklin ended the season with a 15-8 record overall.
On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the team traveled to Sylva for a Mountain Seven clash with Smoky Mountain. There, the Mustangs simply were unable to contain McClure, who exploded for 47 points in an 82-60 win. McClure’s total broke the previous FHS single-game record of 45, set by Ronnie Ledford in 1966 and tied by Randy Higdon in 1992.
“I’m still in shock about that – it was a crazy accomplishment for me,” said McClure when reached for comment later in the week. “I didn’t know how close I was, but I was feeling it that night so I just kept shooting and letting it fly, and it kept going in. … I don’t think it’s hit me just yet, to be honest. It’s a big thing and I understand that, but I just try to stay humble about it, not say much and keep working. I’ve still got bigger accomplishments to make in my high school career.”
After McClure’s historic performance in Sylva, in which he also racked up six rebounds, two assists and seven steals, the next night the team returned to Tom Raby Court for a clash with Swain. Entering the game at 15-6, the Maroon Devils provided a tough test for the Panthers.
Junior guard Braylen Dezarn shot out of the gate for Franklin, scoring seven of the team’s 11 points in the first. Despite these and two steals from junior center Brayden Hervey, Swain ended the quarter up 17-11.
Dezarn stayed hot into the second, racking up three points and three assists to help tie the game at 27. McClure added eight points and a block to end the half up 32-31.
Franklin’s defense harassed the Devils in the third, posting a block and five steals including three from Dezarn. Swain made their other possessions count however, ending the quarter up 51-48.
McClure turned red-hot in the final period, racking up 11 points and a steal to give his team a 63-58 lead. Down three points with less than a minute to play, a Swain player was assessed a technical foul for apparent comments made to an official, and McClure sank both ensuing free throws to extend the lead back to five. From there Swain seemed to unravel, being forced to foul Franklin unsuccessfully and losing 71-63.
After dispatching Swain, on Feb. 9 the Panthers hosted conference rival West Henderson for their final game of the regular season. In a Senior Night rematch of West’s 20-point home win Jan. 16, the Falcons looked sharp early once again, jumping out to a 16-5 lead despite five points and two steals from McClure. Franklin soon returned the favor however, mounting a Rauers-led 11-4 run to end the first quarter down 20-16.
Junior forward Noah Brannon heated up in the second, posting a block and a 3-pointer to cut his team’s deficit to 22-20. West controlled the rest of the quarter however, ending the half up 35-28.
The Falcons stayed hot in the third, holding Franklin to just six points and scoring 16 on the other end. Down 51-34 to start the fourth, McClure tried to spark a comeback with eight points in the quarter, but the Panthers ultimately fell 61-51.
Having finished the season at 15-8 overall and 7-5 in the conference, the fourth-place Panthers will host fifth-place Pisgah in Round 1 of the Mountain Seven Tournament. The 12-10 (4-7) Black Bears hosted North Henderson after press time Feb. 13 before traveling to Franklin this Friday.
With 26 points versus both Swain and West, McClure finished the week with 99, nearly one-fifth of his 515 total over 23 games this season. While he says he would have liked to close the regular season with a win, the junior believed the home loss would spur on the team moving forward.
“I think this is gonna give us a lot of motivation going into the conference tournament,” he said. “[We’ve got] a big game next Friday against Pisgah, so we’re gonna get prepared, work hard this week, keep our heads up and get after each other. Once Friday night comes around, it’s gonna be all business.”