Lions close out first half with 2 wins
By Donnie A. Lucas
The varsity Lion basketball team closed out the first half of District 10-2A action last week with a pair of wins to improve to 4-2 in league play.
Albany had a bye on Tuesday prior to starting the second half.
The Lions will host Hawley on Friday, Jan. 22, with the JV boys starting at 6:00 p.m. and the varsity following at about 7:15 p.m.
Sitting in third place at the moment, the Lions hope to avenge their 51-50 loss to the Bearcats in their district opener.
Albany will be on the road next Tuesday, Jan. 26. Games will start at 4:00 p.m. since the Pipers only have one gym. The JV boys are expected to start at 5:15 p.m., with the varsity boys tipping off at about 7:45 p.m.
Albany played in Stamford on Jan. 12, earning a 65-44 win over the Bulldogs.
“Offensively, we got contributions from several guys,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “Getting production from so many of our players made it tough for them to defend.”
Barrett Beal, Cole Chapman, and London Fuentes were named as offensive standouts.
“Defensively, we gave up some early rebounds in the first quarter that Stamford was able to use as a second chance,” the coach said. “I thought we did a better job as the game went on with our rebounding on both ends and eliminating opportunities for them.”
Albany 15 17 15 18 - 65
Stamford 11 8 10 15 - 44
Scoring for the Lions were Beal 18, Fuentes 10, Coy Lefevre 5, Chapman 15, Everett McWhorter 8, Cooper Fairchild 2, Adam Hill 5, Luke Ivy 2.
Albany jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first period in Haskell last Friday, hanging on for a 38-36 win over the Indians.
“We came out really well, but we weren’t able to keep our rhythm,” Peacock said. “We had chances in the second quarter to stretch the lead but couldn’t get anything to fall for us. “
Beal and Chapman were named offensive standouts.
“Barrett and Cole continue to play well on the offensive end, while our defense did a good job of keeping the game from getting away from us,” Peacock said. “It is always tough to win in Haskell, but the guys fought through a tough stretch and were able to come away with a big win to close out the first half of district.”
Albany 16 4 8 10 - 38
Haskell 4 3 13 16 - 36
Scoring for the Lions were Beal 16, Lefevre 5, Chapman 12, McWhorter 2, and Hill 3.
JV Results
The JV Lions picked up a 39-35 win in Stamford.
We played solid defense and blocked out much better this week,” coach Rod Britting said. “Lute Wheeler shot well from the outside, and Zach Parrott was able to keep their big guy from scoring in the second half.”
He added that Bryson Herring did a good job of keeping Stamford’s point guard away from the basket.
Albany 13 8 4 14 - 39
Stamford 13 6 11 5 - 35
Scoring for the Lion JV were Houston Heatly 9, Keatin Russell 4, Andrew Leverton 3, Wheeler 11, Herring 4, Parrott 8.
The JV lost in Haskell on Friday, 33-21, dropping to 3-3 in district and 9-3 overall.
“We had some good looks but couldn’t get anything to fall,” coach Peacock said. “Our second quarter hurt us as we gave up 14 points and only scored four.”
Parrott was named the offensive standout.
Albany 7 4 7 3 - 21
Stamford 8 14 7 4 - 33
Scoring for Albany were Heatly 2, Wheeler 3, Cole Read 4, and Parrott 12.
