Jr. high teams end season Monday
By Sam Waller
Albany’s Junior High Cubs and Lady Cubs wrapped up their basketball seasons this week, participating in tournaments on Saturday, Jan. 29, before playing season finales against Stamford on Monday, Jan. 31.
The seventh and eighth grade boys played at the Breckenridge tournament on Saturday, while the Lady Cubs took a combined team to a Guthrie tournament.
On Monday, the girls played at home, while the boys visited Stamford.
Eighth Grade Boys
At the Breckenridge tournament, the eighth grade Cubs beat Colorado City 42-31 and lost to Breckenridge 33-27. For the tourney, Huffman Heatly scored 25 points, reaching double figures in both games. Brody Oliver totaled 12 points and Calhan Fairchild had 11. Mason McCloy finished with seven points, followed by Lane Helle with six, while Cade Fairchild and Tristan Howe each scored four.
Coach David Fairchild lauded the team for balanced scoring against Colorado City. Seven players recorded at least four points.
“Everyone contributed offensively,” he said. “Defensively, we had some big rebounds inside from Helle, Oliver and Howe. We did a good job up front in the press with plenty of takeaways by both Fairchilds, McCloy, and Heatly.”
Against Breckenridge, Albany trailed 21-10 at halftime before battling back.
“The guys came out in the second half and never gave in, continued to battle making play after play and found themselves in a ballgame with a chance to win,” the coach said. “It was a team effort on defense.”
On Monday, Albany lost 31-29 at Stamford, missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“This was another tough-fought game where we were down early and came back in the second quarter to make it 14-12 at half," the coach said. “After a back-and-forth second half and plenty of good defensive stops, we came out on the short end. Once again, the kids continued to battle.”
Heatly led the scoring with 12 points. McCloy and Oliver each added four, while Calhan Fairchild, Cade Fairchild, and Helle added three points apiece.
“To be honest, I think we got more from these last two games than we have all year,” David Fairchild said. “It showed me three things – they never lay down and give in, they know how to compete and never stop until the buzzer, and even if they are overmatched by size or talent, they find a way to fight and have a chance in the end. These guys have had two great junior high seasons with an overall record of 21-2.”
Seventh Grade Boys
At Breckenridge on Saturday, the seventh grade Cubs lost 34-22 to Eastland and beat Anson 18-16.
Wesley Gleitz totaled 14 points for the tourney, including 10 against Eastland, while Colter Edgar scored 12. Sam Vickers added seven points, followed by Conner Smith with five and Jack Nail with two.
At Stamford, Albany pulled out a 19-18 overtime victory to finish the season.
The Cubs led 6-2 after the first quarter and 12-7 at halftime before Stamford rallied to force overtime.
In the extra period, the Cubs outscored the Bulldogs 3-2, getting a field goal from Wesley Gleitz and a free throw from Jack Nail.
Nail finished with seven points to lead Albany, and Sam Vickers added six. Gleitz, Conner Smith, and Colter Edgar each scored two points.
Combined Boys Team
Albany’s combined team lost Monday to Stamford 14-6 after leading 4-0 at halftime. Ryan Turner led the Cubs with four points, and Zak Presley scored two.
Girls Mixed Team
The Lady Cubs fielded a combined team Saturday for the Guthrie tournament, finishing second with a 1-1 record.
Albany beat Matador Motley County 44-16 and lost to Guthrie 17-16.
Zayne Lefevre totaled 17 points for the day, with Braylee Clark adding 14 and Amber Miramontes 11. Hattie Braly finished with six points, followed by Madison Parrott and Allie McDaniel with four each, Kaisley Bartee with three, and Brooke Richards with one.
Against Motley County, the Lady Cubs led 10-2 in the first quarter and 27-11 at halftime before pushing the lead to 40-14 in the third quarter.
Against Guthrie, Albany trailed 7-3 after one period and 11-7 at halftime. Trailing 17-10 entering the fourth quarter, Albany rallied but couldn’t get over the hump.
Girls Red Team
The Lady Cubs Red team wrapped up the season Monday with a 29-18 victory over Stamford.
Albany jumped out to 6-0 in the first minute of the game, but Stamford chipped away and led 14-12 at halftime.
Albany took the lead for good on Braylee Clark’s putback midway through the third quarter, but Stamford was still within two until Clark hit a 3-pointer with 3:14 to go.
The Lady Cubs scored the last nine points to pull away. Clark finished with 15 points. Mimi Ivy added six points and Alli McDaniel scored five. Kaisley Bartee had two points and Caroline Chapman had one.
Girls White Team
Albany’s White team finished the season with a 24-22 loss that was decided in the final 30 seconds.
The Lady Cubs fell behind 6-0 in the first quarter, but made five of seven free throws in the final minute of the second to lead 11-10 at halftime. Ashlyn Miller hit two of three with less than a second to go in the half to give Albany its first lead.
The game remained close throughout the second half. Amber Miramontes tied the score at 22 on a free throw with 38 seconds left, but Stamford scored on the following possession to regain the lead. Albany had two more chances, but missed two free throws with 15 seconds to go and couldn’t get a shot off before the final buzzer.
Miramontes finished with nine points, and Hattie Braly had seven to lead Albany. Charlee Hefner added four points and Miller scored two.
