Lions hold on to third place spot
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lion basketball team suffered a second district loss to Cisco on Friday, but is still holding on to a third place finish in the district race at this point.
Albany traveled to Anson on Tuesday, defeating the Tigers, who were previously the district leaders, 59-54. Details were not available at press time but will be reported next week.
The Lions will finish out the regular season with a pair of home games, hosting Stamford on Friday and Haskell next Tuesday, Feb. 9. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. following the varsity girls.
Albany posted a 79-52 win over the Pipers on Jan. 26 in Hamlin.
“Offensively, we played really well throughout the game,” head coach Ryder Peacock said. “We got great looks and were able to create some opportunities with our defense.”
The coach named Barrett Beal and Cole Chapman as offensive standouts.
“Barrett had a big game with a season-high 33 points,” the coach said. “The guys did a good job of not panicking as Hamlin was shooting at a high percentage in the first half. We were able to settle in during the second half and pull away.”
Luke Ivy and Beal were name defensive standouts.
Albany 18 18 22 21 - 79
Hamlin 18 14 12 8 - 52
Scoring for the Lions were Barrett Beal 33, London Fuentes 7, Coy Lefevre 6, Cole Chapman 12, Everett McWhorter 4, Cooper Fairchild 2, Adam Hill 7, Luke Ivy 4, and Caden Price 4.
Albany got off to a slower start against Cisco last Friday, losing to the Loboes 55-43. The loss gave the team a 6-3 district mark.
“Our turnovers in the second quarter caught up with us,” Peacock said. “We finally settled in during the second half and were able to make things happen. We got it within a manageable game in the second half but just couldn’t come up with enough stops.”
Barrett Beal and Adam Hill were named offensive standouts.
“Barrett and Adam had a strong games for us, along with London early in the game with a pair of three-pointers,” the coach said.
Albany 9 5 10 19 - 43
Cisco 16 13 12 14 - 55
Scoring for the Lions were Barrett Beal 14, London Fuentes 8, Coy Lefevre 4, Cole Chapman 2, Adam Hill 15.
JV Splits Games
The JV won at Hamlin, 48-24.
“The guys played well all the way around,” coach Rod Britting said. “The score could have been much worse, but we pulled off and used it as an opportunity to work on some new concepts against an opponent.”
Houston Heatly and Lanxton Viertel were offensive standouts, with Lute Wheeler and Bryson Herring named for defense.
Albany 13 15 10 10 - 48
Hamlin 0 4 10 10 - 24
Scoring were Houston Heatly 13, Brayden Watson 4, Andrew Leverton 1, Austin Sanchez 3, Lute Wheeler 6, Bryson Herring 3, Lanxton Viertel 11, and Zach Parrott 7.
The JV lost to Cisco on Friday, 39-30.
“We started slow, and Cisco was shooting lights out,” Britting said. “We began to pressure them a bit but came up short.”
Lanxton Viertel and Zach Parrott were scoring standouts, while Bryson Herring and Keatin Russell were defensive standouts.
Albany 4 6 6 14 - 30
Cisco 15 8 8 8 - 39
Scoring for Albany were Houston Heatly 6, Keatin Russell 6, Bryson Herring 2, Lanxton Viertel 9, and Zach Parrott 7.
