Boys win last 2 district outings

Thu, 01/12/2023 - 13:00

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By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions returned from the holiday break last week to win twice by comfortable margins, evening their district record in the process.

Albany (now 6-2 overall, 2-1 District 10-2A) defeated Hamlin 66-29 on Tuesday, Jan. 3 in its first district road game, then topped Coleman 48-35 on Friday, Jan. 6 at home in the final nondistrict contest.

The Lions resumed district play Tuesday, Jan. 10, with a 56-47 win over Stamford at home. Details will be reported next week.

Albany visits Anson on Friday, Jan. 13.

Lions coach Ryder Peacock said the team has made quick progress after not playing until almost Christmas because of the football team’s playoff run.

“You can tell the guys have worked hard in practice,” he said. “They are starting to see each other a lot better. The more we play, the more comfortable they get with each other.”

That is even more important, Peacock said, because so many players on varsity have so little playing time together.

“They’re starting to move the ball, and that was evident in the first half against Coleman,” he said. “We were getting some good looks because the guys were finding each other.”

At Hamlin, Albany opened up a 13-8 lead in the first quarter and increased the margin to 30-12 at halftime.

All eight players in uniform scored for the Lions. London Fuentes and Adam Hill each scored 16 points with Lute Wheeler adding 11.

The Lions faced Coleman for the second time in six days after edging the Bluecats by six points for third place in the small-school division at the Brownwood tournament. Peacock said the rematch offered unique challenges.

“It’s tough because they know you a little bit better than they did the first time,” he said. “The first time, you can get away with some things. After that, they know some of your strengths.”

Albany was able to offset that by slowing the pace of play and beating the Bluecats on the boards.

Hill led the Lions with 13 points while Luke Marshall and Wheeler each added nine.

Albany led just 3-2 midway through the first quarter when Marshall provided the defensive play of the game, blocking a shot as Coleman had a two-on-one break with a chance to take the lead. Instead, the Lions went on a 16-5 run for a 19-7 lead, and Coleman was never closer than 10 the rest of the way.

Wheeler helped build the cushion, hitting three of Albany’s five 3-pointers. The outside scoring helped open things up inside for Hill, who had nine points after Brayden Watson’s trey with 4:52 to go in the second quarter.

“Seeing Coleman again was good for us because we’re obviously going to play teams twice in district,” Peacock said. “We need to know how to make some adjustments.”

ALBANY 66, HAMLIN 29

ALBANY – London Fuentes 16, Adam Hill 16, Lute Wheeler 11, Wyatt Windham 8, Brayden Watson 8, Luke Marshall 3, Branson Beal 2, Lanxton Viertel 2.

Albany 13 17 18 18 - 66

Hamlin 8 4 9 6 - 29

ALBANY 48, COLEMAN 35

ALBANY – Adam Hill 13, Luke Marshall 9, Lute Wheeler 9, Brayden Watson 5, Lanxton Viertel 5. Wyatt Windham 4, London Fuentes 3.

Coleman 4 7 13 11 - 35

Albany 8 20 11 9 - 48

Junior Varsity

The Lions JV team split its two games last week after opening district play by beating Haskell.

A 29-19 victory over the Indians on Tuesday, Dec. 20 was followed by a 49-7 win at Hamlin before the JV fell to Coleman 42-25.

The Albany freshmen played Woodson on Monday, Jan. 9, but no results were available.

Against Haskell, the JV opened up a 9-0 lead in the first quarter. The Indians trailed only 20-18 entering the fourth quarter, but Albany closed the game with a 9-1 run. Brody Oliver and Huffman Heatly each scored eight points with Cade Fairchild adding six.

At Hamlin, the Lions put the game away with a 23-0 run to start. Aiden Mendez led the way with 18 points while Heatly scored 13.

Against Coleman, Albany led early, but the Bluecats surged ahead in the second period. Mendez had nine points with Oliver scoring six.

ALBANY JV 29, HASKELL 19

ALBANY JV – Brody Oliver 8, Huffman Heatly 8, Cade Fairchild 6, Calhan Fairchild 3, Aiden Mendez 2, Slade Windham 2.

Haskell 0 7 11 1 - 19

Albany JV 9 5 6 9 - 29

ALBANY JV 49, HAMLIN 7

ALBANY JV – Aiden Mendez 18, Huffman Heatly 13, Brody Oliver 6, Cade Fairchild 5, Mason Decker 3, Calhan Fairchild 2, Kolt Koemel 2.

Albany JV 23 7 12 7 - 49

Hamlin 0 3 2 2 - 7

COLEMAN 42, ALBANY JV 25

ALBANY JV – Aiden Mendez 9, Brody Oliver 6, Huffman Heatly 5, Cade Fairchild 3, Jaxson Street 2.