Panther men’s hoops are on a hot streak.
On the week of Jan. 13 the team faced a busy schedule, with games versus West Henderson, Smoky Mountain and Hayesville. With wins in all three including two in the Mountain Seven, Franklin improved to 13-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, they hosted 2-13 West in an M7 game. Just before tipoff the team honored senior guard Max McClure, who broke the program’s all-time scoring record at Andrews Jan. 9. With his 1,282nd career point versus the Wildcats, McClure broke the record set by his older brother, Miles, who graduated in 2022.
The Falcons shot out of the gate in the first, leading 8-0 midway through the quarter.
Franklin regrouped after a timeout however, getting five points from Noah Brannon to cut their deficit to four. With time expiring in the quarter Max McClure heaved a deep 3-pointer, finding the net from near half-court to end the quarter down 14-13.
Franklin kept the pressure on West to start the second, posting six steals including three from Jack Teesateskie. McClure, Lance Parker and Braylen Dezarn recorded the other three steals, adding 15 points and three assists to end the half up 35-20.
Having scored Franklin’s last seven points of the second, Dezarn stayed red-hot in the third, racking up 15 points and two steals. Teesateskie added six points, an assist and a steal to extend the lead to 56-33. Nolan Collins added three points and a steal in the fourth to win 70-46.
“The key tonight was our defense,” said McClure after the game. “Our defensive pressure up front on our press really caused a lot of problems for those guards. We were flying around in the back of our press too, with our guys flying around and getting their hands in passing lanes, so that was really important. The guys have been working their tails off up front on that press, and on top of that Braylen and Jack and those guys shot it well from the 3-point line, so that’s always huge when you have guys that are efficient from the 3-point line. Other than that, it’s just playing team basketball – that’s what helps us get these big wins in the conference.”
With 12 points versus West, McClure improved his career total to 1,305, moving further past his brother with nine regular season games to play. After breaking the record at Andrews, the senior said he had more points than he’d previously thought.
“Funny story is, I did. I actually heard something but it wasn’t the right number, so I thought I was supposed to score 17,” said McClure on whether he’d known he was close to the record entering the Andrews game. “When I scored 17 I thought I was there, and then when the buzzer hit I was like, ‘Oh, there it is.’ I didn’t know the numbers were off a little bit.”
Needing just six points versus the Wildcats to match Miles’ mark, McClure exceeded expectations once again, in a fitting microcosm of his career. While he said he’s long had his eye on Miles’ record, he reminded fans that he’s had more games to accomplish the feat.
“It feels awesome. It’s a special accomplishment,” said McClure. “I don’t want to forget that my brother got his junior year taken away from him, because that was when COVID hit, so I’m here to honor him and what he’s done. It’s really cool, especially because it’s my brother’s record that I broke. … To be honest, I tried not to focus on that as much. We were talking about it, but I tried to stay in the moment and just play my game and trust that I was going to play well, and whenever that time came I was going to pass him. But I didn’t want to think about it – I just wanted to stay in the moment and not try to get into the future.”
Despite Miles playing just 11 games in a COVID-shortened 2020-21, in terms of career games played the brothers’ scoring outputs have been nearly identical. In 87 appearances Miles averaged 14.7 points per game, while Max has averaged 14.3 in 92 contests and counting.
Having averaged 22.9 points per game as a junior, including a Franklin all-time single-game record 47, Max has had more offensive help around him as a senior, cooling off somewhat to 16.4. But while he’s taken a hit on the stat sheet, McClure says he’ll gladly trade that for team success.
“I was even talking to Miles about it – it’s awesome having Jack with me this year,” said McClure of the junior, who’s formed half of a lethal 1-2 punch since transferring from Cherokee this summer. “Just another elite three-level scorer on our team – he can do it all, so it’s nice having him. I can trust him at times to go score the basketball, and he has the same trust in me, so to have that relationship between us two is big for our team. And if me and him aren’t hitting on some nights, it’s nice to have Noah and Braylen chip in like Braylen did tonight with 20 points.”
The next night the team traveled to Sylva for their second straight conference game, taking on 8-6 Smoky Mountain. Teesteskie came out firing to start the game, scoring nine of Franklin’s first 13 points. Noah Brannon added two blocks and a basket to end the quarter up 19-16.
Teesateskie stayed hot into the second, posting five points, a steal and an assist. Parker added six points and an assist to end the half up 34-32.
Smoky controlled much of the second half, taking the lead 53-46 with seven minutes to play. The Panthers regrouped after a timeout however, getting seven points and two steals from Teesateskie to tie the game at 58. Smoky managed just two points in the final four minutes, missing a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired to lose 63-60. In beating Smoky and West, Franklin improved to 5-1 in the conference, ending the week in second behind 5-0 East Henderson.
The next night the team traveled to Hayesville for a nonconference game, taking on the 3-7 Yellow Jackets. There the Panthers fell on the Jackets in the first, posting eight steals including four from Teesateskie and three from Rauers. The pair added 11 and seven points, respectively to end the quarter up 31-12. The rest of the game passed in much the same way, with Franklin going on to win 91-61. The team hosted East Henderson in an M7 game after press time Jan. 21.