Lions stack wins heading into district play
The Albany Lions closed out the pre-district schedule with a perfect 4-0 showing at the Windthorst Tournament before opening district play with a hard-fought home win over Stamford, continuing a strong start to the 2025-26 season.
Albany defeated Vernon 64-56, Poolville 73-47, Archer City 83-40 and Bellevue 81-39 across the two-day tournament on Dec. 29-30, finishing as co-champions alongside Windthorst and Nocona. Coach Ryder Peacock said the unusual three-way tie was something he had never seen before.
“I’ve never seen three teams go 4-0 in a scheduled tournament,” Peacock said. “Windthorst and Nocona were undefeated as well, so technically we all tied for first.”
One of the Lions’ most eye-catching performance came in the win over Poolville, where freshman Blake Britting poured in 30 points.
“Blake’s done a really good job all year long,” Peacock said. “Our other guys created a lot of offense for him, and he was the beneficiary of a lot of kick-outs. He just got on a roll and started knocking down shot after shot. He plays like he’s a senior a lot of times.”
Albany followed that effort with an 83-40 win over Archer City. After giving up several three-pointers in the opening quarter, the Lions stayed composed and gradually pulled away.
“They came out really hot and had a kid hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter,” Peacock said. “We told our guys we weren’t doing anything wrong, just keep doing what you’re doing. We kept applying pressure on defense and didn’t let one quarter take us out of our game.”
Albany closed tournament play with an 81-39 win over Bellevue, another respected basketball program. Peacock said the Lions were able to attack Bellevue’s zone defense rather than settling for outside shots.
“They run a one-two zone really well and have a lot of length, but I thought our guys did a good job of attacking their defense instead of settling,” he said.
Blake Britting led Albany with 22 points in that contest, followed by Aiden Vickers, Aeden Mendez and Huffman Heatly with 11 points apiece. Britting and Heatly were later named to the all-tournament team.
Peacock said Heatly’s impact often goes far beyond the box score.
“He may not always score 20 points, but he might get 10 to 12 rebounds and six or seven assists,” Peacock said. “He just quietly does everything, and it adds up.”
Following the holiday break, Albany opened district play Friday, Jan. 2, with a 70-61 win over Stamford in Albany. The Lions built a 15-point halftime lead before Stamford trimmed the margin in the third quarter.
“We didn’t come out very well in the third quarter, and that let them get back in the game,” Peacock said. “But our guys did a good job of not letting the game get away from them. We found a way to make baskets when it mattered most and closed it out.”
Blake Britting again led the Lions with 23 points, followed by Clay Chapman with 16.
The Lions were set to travel to Haskell Tuesday for their next district contest, with statistics unavailable at press time.
JV Lions open
district with win
Albany’s JV team opened district play with a 38-25 win over Stamford, shaking off rust after a long layoff.
“They hadn’t played in over two weeks, and it really showed early,” coach Ryder Peacock said. “They made a lot of mistakes you don’t usually see in the middle of the season, but they kept competing.”
The Lions stayed close through the first half before tightening up defensively in the second half and pulling away late to secure the victory.
Levi Murphy led Albany with 11 points, followed by Ben Russell with eight. Peacock said the team is loaded with young talent, and he expects steady improvement as the season continues.
“There’s a lot of good talent on that team,” Peacock said. “Once they get back into game shape, they’re going to keep getting better.”
