Lions await outcome of Anson-Cisco game
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion basketball team finished the regular season with three wins, the final two at home.
Albany is currently in third place behind Cisco and Anson, who will battle on Friday in their season finale that will decide the final district standings.
The Lions ended the regular season with a 10-6 season record, including 9-3 in district.
A win by Cisco on Friday over Anson would bump the Lions to second place, but if Cisco loses, Albany will stay in third place.
The Lions hosted Haskell on Tuesday, defeating the Indians 63-36 in the home finale. Details from the game will be reported next week.
Albany traveled to Anson on Feb. 2, bringing home a 59-54 win.
“We came out flat in the first half and had trouble getting going,” head boys coach Ryder Peacock said. “I thought we did a good job in the second half of attacking the basket in the third quarter and hit some big shots from the outside to open things up.”
The coach named several Lions as offensive standouts, including Coy Lefevre, Cole Chapman, Adam Hill, London Fuentes, and Barrett Beal.
“Defensively, we played well throughout the game,” he said. “I don’t think we gave up much and did a much better job of taking care of the glass and eliminating their second chance opportunities.”
Luke Ivy was named defensive standout.
Albany 10 6 21 22 - 59
Anson 12 11 11 20 - 54
Scoring for the Lions were Barrett Beal 8, London Fuentes 9, Coy Lefevre 14, Cole Chapman 14, Adam Hill 10, and Everett McWhorter 4.
Albany hosted the Stamford Bulldogs last Friday, picking up a 49-38 win.
“We came out firing and built a good lead in the first quarter, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep building on that until late in the game,” Peacock said. “We were getting good looks, but we just couldn’t get anything to fall. Coupled with a lot of missed free throws, it kept us from putting the game away earlier.”
Barrett Beal and Adam Hill were offensive standouts.
“Defensively, we continued to play well and did a good job of controlling the paint,” the coach said.
Albany 15 9 7 18 - 49
Stamford 6 13 8 11 - 38
Scoring for the Lions were Barrett Beal 16, London Fuentes 4, Coy Lefevre 6, Cole Chapman 6, Adam Hill 16, and Luke Ivy 1.
JV Boys Results
The JV Lions played two close games last week with split results.
Albany was edged out 24-22 in Anson on Feb. 2.
“We played a pretty good game overall, but we had a lot of missed opportunities that hurt us,” coach Rod Britting said. “We went back and forth in the fourth period, first in the lead but we made some mental errors to let them get the win.”
Keatin Russell and Lanxton Viertel were tapped as offensive standouts, along with Lute Wheeler and Bryson Herring on the defensive side.
Albany 8 5 6 3 - 22
Anson 4 7 6 7 - 24
Scoring for Albany were Keatin Russell 5, Brayden Watson 2, Andrew Leverton 2, Lute Wheeler 4, Lanxton Viertel 5, and Zach Parrott 4.
The JV won at home last Friday, 43-40, against Stamford.
“It was a really exciting game that came down to the wire,” Britting said. “We were down by one in the last six to eight seconds when Lute Wheeler hit a three-pointer to get the win. We did some really good things to win.”
Houston Heatly and Wheeler were the offensive leaders, while Herring and Viertel were named for defense.
Albany 6 7 16 14 - 43
Stamford 9 6 13 12 - 40
Scoring for Albany were Houston Heatly 13, Keatin Russell 1, Brayden Watson 3, Andrew Leverton 1, Lute Wheeler 14, Bryson Herring 4, and Lanxton Viertel 7.
