By Donnie A. Lucas

Local fifth and sixth graders who signed up for local youth basketball teams have started practicing in preparation for the first tournament of the season on Jan. 11.

According to coach and league coordinator Clint Chapman, 37 students signed up for the four teams designated for fifth and sixth grade boys and girls.

“The teams have already started practicing, so we will not be able to take any late registrations since those kids would already be too far behind,” Chapman said.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Lion football team earned a total of 25 spots on the 7-2A All-District teams, dominating the first team picks with 15 positions.

Albany only captured one superlative honor this season in deference to Hamlin winning the district race and the Lions coming in as the second place team for the first time in 12 seasons.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The varsity Lady Lions won two out of three games at the Breckenridge Tournament last weekend, beating both Dublin and TLCA before falling to the hosting Lady Bucs in the third round.

Albany hosted Guthie on Tuesday, picking up a 43-37 win to improve to 11-4 for the season. Details of the game will be reported in the next issue of the News.

The Lady Lions will travel to Throckmorton on Friday for a 2:00 p.m. game before starting the Christmas holiday.

By Donnie A. Lucas

Last week was very busy for boys basketball, with the varsity playing in the Hico tournament and the two JV teams entered in the Jacksboro tournament.

All three high school boys teams will travel to Comanche on Friday for games starting 4:00 p.m. Following the a mandatory five-day break for Christmas, the varsity Lions will host a six-team tournament set for Jan. 3-4, including Winters, Hico, Jayton, San Saba, Wellington, and Albany. Games will start both days at 10:00 a.m.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The two Lion JV teams played a combined total of nine games last week, hosting a pair of bouts on Tuesday and playing in the Jacksboro Tournament.

The JV teams will travel to Comanche on Friday for games starting at 4:00 p.m. before the holiday break begins.

The JV team suffered a one-point loss to Early on Dec. 10, followed by falling in three games out of four in Jacksboro.

Despite a big fourth-quarter effort, the JV lost 40-39 to Early.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Cubs and Lady Cubs played a full set of games on Monday with mixed results.

The junior high teams will be idle over the Christmas break, resuming play on Jan. 9 in Cross Plains.

The eighth grade girls posted a 31-19 win over the visiting Roscoe girls, improving to 4-4 season and 4-1 in district.

“This was a great team win,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “We had a lot of good things happen, and I think the girls are starting to figure out our press, which makes us pretty deadly.”

By Kathy Thomson

Moran basketball players have been busy with regular games and tournament matches over the last week.

Both varsity teams won games in Woodson on Tuesday, Dec. 10, but did not fare as well in tournament play at Zephyr last weekend.

The middle school boys and girls teams both fell to visiting teams from Eula on Monday, Dec. 16.

Bulldogs

The Moran Bulldogs kept it close with the Cowboys for three quarters before putting up 16 points to Woodson’s 11 in the fourth to tie the score.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Lady Lions were busy last week at the Winters Tournament, winning three games out of five and improving to 8-3 for the season.

The team was open this week as they prepare for tournament action in Breckenridge on Friday and Saturday. The varsity will play Dublin at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, then will start bracket play that afternoon at 4:00 p.m.. Bracket games will continue on Saturday.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Lion varsity basketball team took the floor for the first time last week, falling to Munday in their opener.

The team hosted Early on Tuesday, coming back from an early deficit to play a close game against the 3A Longhorns but eventually losing 48-41.

By Donnie A. Lucas

The Albany Cubs won all three games against the visiting Hawley junior high teams on Monday.

The Cubs will travel to Roscoe on Monday, Dec. 16 for the last set of games before the holiday break. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

The boys will return to the court on Jan. 9 in Cross Plains.

The 8A team beat Hawley 41-24 on Monday.

“This was a good win for us,” coach David Fairchild said. “We still have some things we have to shore up, but the boys showed a lot of hustle.”