By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions varsity basketball team went 3-1 last week at the Hermleigh tournament in its first action of the season.
The Lions, who didn’t start practice until after the football team completed its season, got started on Thursday, Dec. 16, with a 43-27 victory against Bronte and a 44-35 decision against Merkel.
On Friday, Albany beat Coahoma 64-48 before suffering a 43-34 loss on Saturday to San Angelo Cornerstone.
By Sam Waller
The semifinals are called the cruelest round of the state football playoffs.
The Albany Lions learned that the hard way last Thursday, falling one step short of a shot at the Class 2A Division II title with a 35-14 loss to the Stratford Elks at Lubbock’s Lowrey Field.
“Our kids gave us everything that we asked of them and played as hard as they could,” Lions head coach Denney Faith said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions dominated District 8-2A Division II during the season and were rewarded with 20 players earning places on the all-district team.
The Lions collected 24 spots, including five of six superlative awards, and had three players honored for both offense and defense.
The all-district team was selected by vote of district coaches after the regular season.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions varsity boys basketball team conducted their first practice Monday nearly seven weeks after most schools around the state and will play their first game Thursday (today) at the Hermleigh tournament.
Boys basketball teams were allowed to start practice on Oct. 27, but Albany was delayed because of the football team’s playoff run, which reached the state semifinals.
As it is, Lions coach Ryder Peacock still won’t have his full contingent this weekend as players recover from football injuries.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions suffered a pair of home losses last week in their final outings before the start of district play, falling 42-23 to Richland Springs on Tuesday, Dec. 7, and 34-12 to Gordon on Friday, Dec. 10.
The Lady Lions opened the District 10-2A schedule on Tuesday night, Dec. 14 against the Haskell Maidens. Albany was on the losing side of the scoreboard, with details to be reported next week.
Against Richland Springs last week, Albany fell behind 16-2 in the first quarter and never recovered.
By Sam Waller
Moran basketball teams had a busy week with both boys and girls varsity teams making their first tournament appearances.
The Bulldogs started the week against Strawn Nov. 30 before competing in the Woodson tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs played in the Breckenridge tournament after dealing with schedule changes.
Both boys and girls will play in the Lueders-Avoca tournament this weekend.
Girls Games
By Sam Waller
The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs basketball teams swept their home games Monday against Hamlin, allowing a total of 16 points.
The White team won 33-8 with the Red team posting a 36-8 victory. In both games, Hamlin went without scoring in the second and third quarters.
In boys action at Hamlin, Albany won all three games. The eighth grade Cubs won 36-23, the seventh grade 31-27, and the combo team 12-10.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions junior varsity basketball team swept its four games over the weekend at the Albany JV Tournament, while the freshman team went 2-2 in its first action of the season.
The JV team beat Munday 57-29 and Breckenridge 30-22 on Thursday, then topped Graham 53-46 and Anson 47-20 on Saturday.
The freshman team downed Woodson 37-20 and Breckenridge 32-30 on Thursday, but had a tougher time Saturday, losing 31-26 to Graham and 48-21 to Cross Plains.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions got plenty of court time after their return from the Thanksgiving break, playing at Ballinger on Tuesday, Nov. 30, before spending the weekend at the Breckenridge tournament.
The Lady Lions went 2-3 at the tournament, beating Class 4A Springtown and Moran. Kiana Roberson was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 10.2 points per game for the weekend.
Lady Lions coach Tate Thompson said the tournament was a good experience for the team.
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lions have picked a good time to be playing their best football of the season.
In doing so, the Lions gained a measure of revenge by ending the reign of defending state champion Windthorst with a 28-14 victory last Friday in a Class 2A Division II state quarterfinal at Newton Field in Graham.
Albany (13-0) advances to the state semifinals for the 13th time in school history to face Stratford. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Thursday (tonight) at Lowrey Field in Lubbock.
