Lions maintain momentum with 2 wins
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions are on the cusp of clinching a spot in the boys basketball playoffs after sweeping their District 10-2A games last week against Haskell and Hamlin.
Entering an open date on Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Lions (10-3 overall, 6-2 district) were one game away from qualifying and could clinch if both Haskell and Stamford lost earlier in the week.
Albany visits Stamford at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3. A win in that game would also assure the Lions a playoff bid.
The Lions began the second round of the district schedule Tuesday, Jan. 24, with a 45-38 victory at Haskell, avenging a 44-37 loss to the Indians on Dec. 20 in Albany’s first game after an extended football season.
“That first loss was very tough,” Lions coach Ryder Peacock said. “I think it stuck with a lot of us. The guys were able to get back into it.”
Adam Hill scored 24 points after sitting out Albany’s 51-48 victory over Hawley on Friday, Jan. 20. Lute Wheeler added eight points.
Albany built an 11-6 lead in the first quarter and upped the margin to 26-15 at halftime, then held on as the Indians rallied in the second half.
Peacock said solid defense helped make up for a subpar shooting performance on the road.
“We really didn’t play that well against Haskell the second time, either,” he said. “We were very fortunate that we are four weeks into this now, or we would have had a tough time that game.”
Albany closed out the week Friday, Jan. 27, with a 63-17 victory against Hamlin.
London Fuentes hit a 3-pointer off the opening tip to spark an 11-0 run as Albany led from the start. The Lions quickly answered Hamlin’s first basket and maintained a double-digit margin for the final 25 minutes, 45 seconds of the game.
Four Lions finished in double figures and three others added seven points apiece. Fuentes and Wyatt Windham each scored 11 points, while Hill and Lanxton Viertel had 10 apiece.
“At Haskell, we didn’t shoot the ball well at all,” Peacock said. “We missed a lot of shots. It was good for us to come out against Hamlin and see the ball go through the net.”
Peacock again credited the team’s defensive effort. Albany held Hamlin to one field goal in the first quarter to build an 18-2 lead.
“I told the guys you can’t simulate a game in practice,” the coach said. “We could relax on offense, but we needed to play fast on defense. We need to take something away from every game and get better every game.”
And, Peacock said, the Lions did that by playing hard for 32 minutes even with the game well in hand.
“The guys really take a lot of pride in their defense,” he said. “I think that was the difference in that Hawley game; we played such good defense.”
The only mystery for the Lions was how large the final margin would be. The lead reached 26-6 on Windham’s basket with five minutes left in the second quarter and Albany led 38-10 at halftime. Viertel’s basket to start the third quarter pushed the advantage to 30. Branson Beal gave Albany its biggest lead at 61-15 on a 3-pointer with two minutes to go.
ALBANY 45, HASKELL 38
ALBANY – Adam Hill 24, Lute Wheeler 8, Lanxton Viertel 5, London Fuentes 4, Wyatt Windham 4.
Albany 11 15 7 12 - 45
Haskell 6 9 12 11 - 38
ALBANY 63, HAMLIN 17
ALBANY – London Fuentes 11, Wyatt Windham 11, Adam Hill 10, Lanxton Viertel 10, Branson Beal 7, Luke Marshall 7, Brayden Watson 7.
Hamlin 2 8 2 5 - 17
Albany 18 20 8 17 - 63
Junior Varsity
The Lions JV team also enjoyed a 2-0 week, defeating Haskell 31-16 and Hamlin 46-28.
At Haskell, Albany pitched a shutout in the second quarter to build a 17-5 halftime lead. Aiden Mendez led the Lions with 15 points.
Against Hamlin, the Lions jumped out to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter and led 37-6 at halftime. Albany held the Pipers to one field goal in each of the first two periods.
Brody Oliver scored 10 of his game-high 13 points in the first half and 10 of 13 Albany players scored in the win.
ALBANY JV 31, HASKELL 16
ALBANY – Aiden Mendez 15, Brody Oliver 5, Calhan Fairchild 5, Slade Windham 3, Huffman Heatly 3.
Albany JV 9 8 7 7 - 31
Haskell 5 0 6 5 - 16
ALBANY JV 46, HAMLIN 28
ALBANY – Brody Oliver 13, Mason McCloy 6, Huffman Heatly 6, Calhan Fairchild 5, Slade Windham 4, Woods Peterson 3, Breylon Billington 3, Cade Fairchild 2, Aiden Mendez 2, Jaxson Street 2.
Hamlin 3 3 11 11 - 28
Albany JV 18 19 6 3 - 46
