By Sam Waller

The Albany Lions basketball team bounced back from a disappointing loss to record its first home win in emphatic fashion last week.

The Lions lost 48-37 at Anson on Tuesday, Jan. 11 before defeating Stamford 71-29 on Friday, Jan. 14 in District 10-2A play.

Albany (6-4 overall, 3-3 district) hosted Haskell on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to wrap up the first half of the district schedule, winning 54-26. Details will be reported next week.

The Lions have an open date on Friday, Jan. 21, then will be back on the court next Tuesday, Jan. 25 in Hawley.

By Sam Waller

Three Moran High School seniors were honored by bigcountrypreps.com for their efforts in fall sports.

Arren Hawley was an honorable mention selection to the football team at receiver, linebacker, punter and kicker in addition to earning aspot on the website’s True Grit team.

By Sam Waller

The Moran Lady Bulldogs opened District 13-1A competition on Friday, Jan. 7, with a 51-24 loss to May.

Moran trailed 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and 30-12 at halftime. Hannah Noble scored a team-high eight points with Hannah Rogers adding six points. Emily Murk and Johnnie Hise scored four points each, and Alli Scott had two.

The Lady Bulldogs made their second district outing Tuesday, Jan. 11 with a road game to Baird. Results will be reported next week.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions basketball team made significant strides in its two games last week despite battling foul trouble and a state-ranked opponent.

The Lady Lions lost 48-44 in overtime at Hamlin on Tuesday, Jan. 4, as three players fouled out in the extra period. On Friday, Jan. 7, Albany fell 62-21 to Cisco at home.

The Lady Lions (2-12 overall, 0-4 District 10-2A) visited Anson on Tuesday, Jan. 11, losing 66-28. Details will be reported next week. 

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.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Lady Cubs Red team won the eighth grade division of the Albany Junior High Girls Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 8, during a busy stretch for the local teams.

The junior high teams played Abilene Christian on Thursday, Jan. 6, and Cisco on Monday, Jan. 11. The boys seventh and eighth grade teams will play in the Olney tournament on Saturday, Jan. 15, before the regular schedule resumes against Hawley on Monday, Jan. 17.

Red Girls

By Sam Waller

The Albany Lady Lions got an unexpected rest during the holiday break when it was forced to pull out of the Eula tournament.

Coach Tate Thompson said the task now is to make the situation work to the team’s advantage.

“From a positive standpoint, we got a little rest and got rejuvenated,” Thompson said. “We played a lot of games trying to get in shape. Not playing those games probably hurt us a little bit because we need more experience, but maybe we’ll come back a little refreshed and be ready to go.”

By Sam Waller

The Moran Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball teams took their lumps last week at the Gordon Holiday Ford Classic, with both going winless in the tourney.

The Lady Bulldogs lost 48-24 to host Gordon and 62-16 to Class 3A Dublin in pool games on Tuesday, Dec. 28, then fell 39-27 to Wichita Falls Christian on Wednesday, Dec. 29 to wrap up the calendar year.

The Moran boys opened with a 62-24 loss to Gordon and followed with a 47-10 loss to Chico on Tuesday, Dec. 28, before falling 46-32 to Bryson on Wednesday, Dec. 29, in their final game of 2021.

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Lady Cubs basketball teams resume play tonight (Thursday) following the holiday break.

The Lady Cubs will host Abilene Christian, while the boys teams visit Abilene Christian. Games start at 5:30 p.m. at both locations.

The games start the second round of the junior high schedule. Competition will revert to Mondays starting next week (Jan. 10) with the boys hosting Cisco and the girls playing at Cisco.

By Sam Waller

Local fifth and sixth grade basketball players will tip off their season Saturday, Jan. 8, with four teams competing against opponents from other area towns.

“We’ve been practicing for about a week now,” league coordinator and coach Clint Chapman said.

Chapman said Albany’s boys team will play at Eula with the girls teams at Hawley. Albany will have four teams in the league with boys and girls teams for both fifth and sixth graders.