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Lions struggle to find footing in district

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By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions boys basketball team returned from the holiday break with a big road win and a disappointing home loss last week in District 10-2A competition.

On Tuesday, Jan. 4, the Lions defeated Hamlin 52-12 at Hamlin. That was followed by a 55-50 loss to state-ranked Cisco on Friday, Jan. 7.

On Tuesday, Jan. 11, Albany (4-3 overall, 1-2 district) played at Anson, losing 48-37.  Details will be reported next week. 

On Friday, Jan. 14, the Lions return home to host Stamford.

Lions coach Ryder Peacock said the team is making progress after getting a late start.

“We’ve been in basketball for about three weeks now,” he said. “For most teams, that would be early December, and we’re in the second week of January. I thought we did a good job last week.”

In the 52-12 victory at Hamlin, Albany was in control the entire game, holding the Pipers to two field goals in the first half.

Cole Chapman led Albany with 16 points, while Adam Hill added 13. Houston Heatly scored eight points off the bench.

“Against Hamlin, we added some things we needed to work on and were able to accomplish that,” Peacock said.

In the 55-50 loss to Cisco, ranked No. 23 in Class 2A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, the Lions led with less than two minutes to go, but fell victim to a 12-0 closing run by the Loboes.

“For three and a half quarters, we looked like one of the better teams in the region,” Peacock said. “I think our legs fell out from underneath us, and we got a little tired.”

Albany led by as much as 13 points during the game, the last time at 40-27 on Coy Lefevre’s basket in the third quarter. A 6-0 run to start the fourth put the Lions up 49-38, but the shots stopped falling.

Cisco took its first lead at 51-50 with 1:35 remaining.

Lefevre and London Fuentes each scored 13 points to lead the Lions. Hill added 11 points and Chapman had 10.

“I think more than anything, our guys know we have a chance to be a good basketball team,” Peacock said. “We missed a few shots late that hurt us, but overall I’m really happy with what we’re seeing.”

Peacock said the Lions have rebounded from a similar situation before.

“We were in the same boat last year at 1-2 and ended up 9-3,” he said. “We’ve just got to take one game at a time. If we have that attitude, good things will happen.”

ALBANY 52, HAMLIN 12

ALBANY (52) – London Fuentes 2 2-4 7, Coy Lefevre 2 0-0 6, Cole Chapman 5 5-6 16, Adam Hill 5 2-8 13, Houston Heatly 2 2-2 8, Robert Bailey 0 0-0 0, Lute Wheeler 0 0-2 0, Lanxton Viertel 1 0-2 2. Totals 17 11-26 52.

HAMLIN (12) – Montoya 2 1-2 6, B.White 1 0-0 2, McNeely 1 0-0 2, Carson 1 0-0 2. Totals 5 1-2 12.

Albany 10 13 15 14 - 52

Hamlin 3 2 3 4 - 12

3-Point goals – Albany 7 (Fuentes 1, Lefevre 2, Chapman 1, Hill 1, Heatly 2), Hamlin 1 (Montoya 1). Total fouls – Albany 4, Hamlin 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.

CISCO 55, ALBANY 50

CISCO (55) – Wood 4 4-4 12, Hearne 5 2-413, Conring 1 2-2 5, Bailey 1 0-2 5, Brackeen 3 2-3 7, Gayle 2 0-0 6Andrews 3 0-0 8. Totals 19 9-15 55.

ALBANY (50) – London Fuentes 6 1-4 13, Coy Lefevre 5 2-2 13, Cole Chapman 4 1-2 10, Adam Hill 4 3-4 11, Lanxton Viertel 1 1-3 3. Totals 20 8-15 50.

Cisco 10 10 18 17 - 55

Albany 21 6 16 7 - 50

3-Point goals – Cisco 7 (Hearne 1, Conring 1, Bailey 1, Gayle 2, Andrews 2), Albany 2 (Lefevre 1, Chapman 1). Total fouls – Cisco 15, Albany 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.

Junior Varsity

The Lions junior varsity swept its games last week, beating Hamlin 47-27 and Cisco 43-33. In both games, Albany trailed at the end of the first quarter before coming back.

Against Hamlin, the Lions were tied at halftime before taking control in the third quarter. Bryson Herr­ing scored 14 points and Brayden Watson had 12.

“It was close at first as Hamlin was shooting well,” coach Rodd Britting said. “We shut them down pretty well in the second half to pull significantly ahead.  Branson Beal shut their guard down and they went downhill from there.”

Against Cisco, the ­Lions outscored the Loboes 30-9 over the middle two periods. Bryson Herring scored 19 points and Watson had 13.

“This was probably our best overall game in terms of consistency,” Britting said. “We played well on both sides and controlled the game from beginning to end. Bryson Herring had a great offensive game at the low block.”

ALBANY JV 47, HAMLIN JV 27

ALBANY JV (47) – Brayden Watson 12, Cole Read 7, Andrew Leverton 6, Branson Beal 8, Bryson Herring 14.

HAMLIN JV (27) – Rivera 9, Green 8, Goodgame 6, Brannan 2, Botos 2.

Albany 8 11 17 11 - 47

Hamlin 11 8 2 8 - 27

ALBANY JV 43, CISCO JV 33

CISCO JV (33) – Kearns 2, Rodgers 7, Morton 2, Orsagh 11, Williams 2, White 2, Thompson 2.

ALBANY JV (43) – Watson 13, Herring 19, Read 9, Beal 2.

Cisco 13 6 3 11 - 33

Albany 10 15 14 4 - 43