Albany’s varsity boys fight for playoff spot
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion basketball team split district wins last week at home, but lost on the road Tuesday in Haskell to the Indians.
Albany posted a 44-32 loss in Haskell, falling to 2-6 in district and tied for fourth place with Cross Plains in the 8-2A race behind Stamford in first (8-0), Hawley in second (6-2), and Haskell in third (5-3).
The winner of this Friday’s game with Cross Plains will decide the fourth place position in the district.
The Lions will travel to the Buffaloes’ home court on Friday, Feb. 14 starting at 5:00 p.m. with the JV game, followed by the regular season finale at home on Tuesday, Feb. 18 against Stamford, also starting at 5:00 p.m. with the JV. The varsity game will follow.
Varsity Details
Albany sent the Roscoe Plowboys home with a 47-32 loss on Feb. 4.
“We struggled offensively in the first half but did a great job of coming out in the second half and playing with confidence,” head coach Ryder Peacock said. “I thought we controlled the boards in the second half, compared to the first half. We started limiting their possessions to one shot.”
The coach added that the defense continues to improve in both full and half court situations.
“This was a big win for us that put us in a better position in district,” he said.
B.J. Morris was tapped as the offensive standout.
Albany 9 7 12 19 - 47
Roscoe 8 12 6 6 - 32
Scoring for the Lions were Blaine Kayga 2, Coy Lefevre 7, Cade Neve 8, Cole Chapman 2, Seth Hale 6, B.J. Morris 14, Ben West 4, and Ryder Wilkins 4.
Albany also hosted Hawley last Friday, keeping the game close but coming up short for a 55-46 loss.
“Offensively, we did a good job of playing well throughout the game,” Peacock said. “We didn’t have any quarters where we felt like we couldn’t get anything going – we were consistent overall.”
The coach said while the -Lions played well on defense, they had a tough time attempting to contain Hawley’s size inside.
“It was a physical game inside, and they were able to use their size to keep possessions alive,” he said.
West was picked as the offensive standout.
Albany 11 12 11 14 - 48
Hawley 12 16 14 13 - 55
Scoring were Kayga 4, Lefevre 2, Chapman 7, Hale 8, Morris 7, West 18, and Wilkins 2.
JV Wins at Home
The JV Lions won both games last week.
The JV put together a 50-15 win over Roscoe on Feb. 4.
“We were a little sloppy, but still able to put together a good win,” coach Rod Britting said.
Albany 10 15 9 16 - 50
Roscoe 2 3 6 4 - 15
Scoring for the JV were Brooks Neece 8, Keatin Russell 4, London Fuentes 6, Caden Price 2, Barrett Beal 17, Robert Bailey 5, Brodey Jones 4, and Zach Parrott 4.
The JV also earned a 38-33 win over Hawley last Friday.
“We got a comfortable lead going into the fourth and withstood Hawley’s comeback effort,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “It was tough to score inside because the game was pretty physical.”
The coach said he was happy with the rebounding and the early transition offense.
Beal was named offensive standout.
Albany 12 12 6 8 - 38
Hawley 7 5 9 13 - 33
Scoring were Neece 1, Fuentes 6, Beal 17, Parrott 4, Bailey 4, and Jones 7.
