3 boys teams to be on road Friday
By Donnie A. Lucas
Last week was very busy for boys basketball, with the varsity playing in the Hico tournament and the two JV teams entered in the Jacksboro tournament.
All three high school boys teams will travel to Comanche on Friday for games starting 4:00 p.m. Following the a mandatory five-day break for Christmas, the varsity Lions will host a six-team tournament set for Jan. 3-4, including Winters, Hico, Jayton, San Saba, Wellington, and Albany. Games will start both days at 10:00 a.m.
Despite a strong comeback effort, the Lions lost to the visiting Early Longhorns, 48-41, on Dec. 10.
“We got off to a slow start, getting down 16-0 in the first quarter,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “The guys showed a lot of resiliency to battle back and put themselves in the game.”
It was only the second game of the season for the squad due to football playoffs.
“We are still learning how to play man-to-man defense, as well as just needing more time to develop our off-the-ball defense,” he said. “Offensively, we left several points off the board, but I was pleased with their hustle and fight.”
Albany 6 6 10 19 - 41
Early 16 12 11 9 - 48
PLAYER PTS. AST. REB. STL.
C Chapman 2 0 2 2
S Hale 0 0 0 1
BJ Morris 9 2 3 6
D Hindman 0 0 1 1
B West 17 2 11 2
B Sullivan 0 0 1 0
C Knight 5 2 10 0
R Wilkins 0 1 2 0
B Kayga 8 1 3 0
The Lions shot 32 percent from the floor and 60 percent at the line.
Ben West, Blaine Kayga, and B.J. Morris were named offensive standouts, while Morris was also picked for defense.
The Lions were narrowly edged out of the first two rounds at the Hico Tournament, but rallied to win the final two games.
Albany lost to Valley Mills 36-34.
“We never got much of a rhythm on offense,” Peacock said. “There were a few times we looked like we were in sync, but not enough to ever put together a big quarter.”
The coach said he was pleased with the Lions’ defensive efforts.
West and Kayga were the offensive standouts named by the coach.
Albany 6 7 12 9 - 34
V Mills 7 10 11 8 - 36
Scoring for Albany were Cole Chapman 2, Seth Hale 3, Morris 3, West 12, Coby Knight 4, Ryder Wilkins 2, and Kayga 8.
The Lions also lost to Hubbard last Thursday in the second round, 32-31.
“We played pretty flat and made a lot of mistakes in the first half,” the coach said. “We got into full-court press in the second half and were fortunate enough to create some turnovers to get scoring opportunities in transition. Coby (Knight) did a good job in the second half to become a factor in the game, scoring all of his 10 points in the second half.”
West, Knight, and Kayga were picked as offensive standouts.
Albany 2 6 8 10 5 - 31
Hubbard 9 7 7 3 6 - 32
Scoring for the Lions were Chapman 1, West 13, Knight 10, and Kayga 7.
Returning to Hico on Friday, the Lions turned things around with a 51-25 win over Founders Christian School.
“We had a strong second-half performance after getting off to a good start in the first few minutes before slowing down,” Peacock said. “We started attacking the basket and were able to put points on the board during transition.”
West, Kayga, and Knight were again recognized on offense by the coach.
Albany 11 10 18 12 - 51
Founders 4 9 6 6 - 25
Scoring were Chapman 2, Hale 3, Morris 2, West 21, Knight 8, Wilkins 4, and Kayga 11.
The Lions picked up the second win of the season with a 54-43 bout against Community Christian.
“After getting down 11-0 in the first few minutes, we really stepped up on the defensive end to make a 54-32 run from that point,” the coach said. “This team was streaky from the outside and hit a lot of three-pointers to keep the game interesting, but we really started playing better overall. The second half was our best basketball so far this season.”
West, Knight, Morris, and Chapman were picked as offensive standouts.
Albany 9 7 18 20 - 54
CC 16 10 5 12 - 43
Scoring were Chapman 8, Hale 4, Morris 14, West 12, Knight 12, and Kayga 4.
