Youth basketball season ends with tournaments
By Kathy Thomson
The fifth and sixth grade youth teams finished out their season last Saturday, Feb. 8, playing in tournaments at Clyde and Eula with mixed results.
Fifth Grade Boys
The fifth grade boys won their first two games to make it to the championship match.
They outscored Eula White 30-7 in game one, and returned to take Jim Ned 25-15 in game two.
Hawley came out on top in the final game, beating Albany 26-14.
Assistant coach Campbell Terry said that the boys played great during the tournament.
“They have improved so much this season,” Terry said.
Coach Morgan Smith also complimented the team, who were 5-4 this season.
“They made really great strides,” Smith said. “They played hard and hustled each and every game.”
Smith thanked Terry for helping him coach the team this year, especially for filling in last Saturday when Smith had a scheduling conflict.
Playing for Albany this year were Connor Smith, Levi New, Colter Edgar, Sam Vickers, Zak Presley, Zane Green, and Wesley Gleitz.
Fifth Grade Girls
The fifth grade girls went 1-2 in their tournament in Eula to finish 3-4 on the year.
In the first game, Albany lost to the host team.
In their second game, the local girls beat Clyde Gold.
Albany fell to Merkel in game three.
“We only had five girls, and they did awesome,” said coach Loree Lee. “It was pretty cool to see the five stay out on the floor the entire time, for three games!”
Playing in the tournament were Zayne Lefevre, Brooke Richards, Tatum Grady, Rashelle Sanchez, and Kalie Turner. Also on the team, but unable to play last weekend were Ashlyn Miller, MaeKayla Kersey, Kitty Bell, and Hattie Braly.
Sixth Grade Girls
Results from the sixth grade girls tournament games were not available at press time, and will be reported next week.
Members of the team include Caroline Chapman, Mimi Ivy, Paisley Clark, Serenity Murphy, Avarie Myrick, Brook Green, Braylee Clark, Kaisley Bartee, and Madison Holson.
Clint Chapman is the coach.
Sixth Grade Boys
The sixth grade boys played one of the Jim Ned teams in their first game of the tournament, winning 24-14.
“We played good defense, only giving up 14 points,” said coach John Tom Heatly. “I was proud of the boys’ effort.”
Chipping in for Albany were Cade Fairchild 10, Huffman Heatly 6, Calhan Fairchild 4, Brody Oliver 2, and Woods Peterson 2.
“Game two was a rematch of last year’s championship with Clyde,” said the coach. “We have never lost to these guys before, but this time we came up a little short. It was a good game with both teams laying it all out on the floor.”
The Albany team members tried to send it into overtime, but two missed shots in the final few seconds left Clyde in the lead, 36-33.
“Although it wasn’t the championship game, I think it was between the two best teams in the bracket,” John Tom Heatly said. “Clyde moved on to the championship game and won.”
Scoring for Albany were Cade Fairchild 12, Huffman Heatly 6, Calhan Fairchild 5, Woods Peterson 4, Mason McCloy 4, and Brody Oliver 2.
Albany played the other Jim Ned team in game three.
“We were a little short handed,” said the coach. “We had one player out sick, and two had a family event. The boys played very hard but after a long day we just ran out of gas.”
Jim Ned won 20-18.
Results from the sixth grade boys games in Jim Ned on Saturday, Feb. 1, which were not available at press time last week, are included below.
Albany beat Jim Ned Blue 32-15 in the first game.
“Our boys played the most complete game they have played all year,” said coach John Tom Heatly. “We shot the ball really well from both the floor and the charity stripe.”
The sixth graders also did a good job on defense, according to the coach.
“We try and keep the other teams to 15 points or less every game,” Heatly said. “Jim Ned got eight points in the first half and seven in the second, so our defense was great as well.”
Scoring for Albany were Cade Fairchild 15, Huffman Heatly 8, Brody Oliver 7, Mason McCloy 2, and Calhan Fairchild 1.
Albany claimed their second win of the day 45-5 over Eula.
“The boys picked up right where they left off from game one,” said the coach. “We came out hot, played exceptional on both sides of the floor, and just jumped out to a large lead.”
Everyone on the teamwas able to get time on the court, according to Heatly.
“All the boys played well,” he said.
Scoring against Eula were Mason McCloy 14, Cade Fairchild 12, Brody Oliver 9, Woods Peterson 4, Max Oliver 4, and Calhan Fairchild 4.
Also on the team are Jackson Shack, Ryan Turner, Aiden Mendez, and Gatlin Wills.
“I love these boys, and it has been so much fun coaching them, not only in basketball but in all sports,” said coach Heatly. “They only lost three games in two years by a combined total of nine points. Things didn’t end the way we would have liked, but it’s been a pleasure to coach these guys.”
Clayton Oliver and Heatly worked together to coach the sixth grade boys.
“I would like to thank coach Clayton Oliver for all his help,” Heatly said. “Clayton feels the exact same way about this group; they are special.”
