Steers clinch second in district with win over Stephenville

The regular season wrapped up Tuesday night for boys basketball as the Steers traveled to Stephenville and came home with a 39-34 win.

Graham came into the final game with a 4-3 district record while Stephenville was 3-4. The winner of the game would earn second place in the district. Even though both teams would have the same record, the Yellow Jackets would have won both games.

But that didn’t come to pass as the Steers took care of business on the opponent’s floor and solidified their place in the district standings. With every game accounted for, Glen Rose finished in first at 8-0, Graham in second at 5-3, Mineral Wells took third at 4-4, Stephenville ended in fourth with a 3-5 record and Brownwood rounded out the district in fifth at 0-8.

It was the second time the Steers faced the Yellow Jackets this season, and it was, once again, a close battle the entire night. The first time these two teams met up in Graham, Stephenville won 45-39. But Tuesday night, the Steers were the ones to come out on top.

Offense was somewhat difficult to come by as defense dominated the game. Neither team led by more than five points at the end of any quarter and they traded leads a few times throughout the game.

At the end of the first quarter the teams were tied 10-10, with four Steers contributing points in the opening minutes. Senior Keion Shead had four points in the frame while freshman Bryce Martin, junior Cash Bowen and senior Samuel Rodgers each pitched in two points.

In the second quarter the Steers’ offense trailed off a bit while the Yellow Jackets pulled ahead. As the teams headed into halftime, Stephenville held a slim 21-16 lead over Graham.

The Steers looked to bounce back in the third quarter, which has given them trouble throughout the season. But Graham closed the gap significantly on Stephenville thanks to four points from Shead in the quarter and eight points from junior Ty Thompson. At the end of three quarters of play, the home team led just 30-28.

The fourth quarter was where Graham shined. The Steers’ defense locked down the Yellow Jackets’ offense and only allowed four points in the entire quarter. Meanwhile, Graham began to attack Stephenville’s defense and earned a lot of free throws.

Thompson scored the only basket in the period while the rest of Graham’s points came at the free throw line. Thompson and Shead combined for five points on free throws and senior Tyson Weaver went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minutes to ice the game and secure the win for the Steers.

Thompson and Shead both finished in double figures in scoring with 16 points and 12 points, respectively. Weaver ended with 4 points on the free throws, Rodgers had 3 points while Bowen and Martin each had 2 points.

The Steers will now turn their sights to the postseason as they’ll look to earn a win in their bi-district matchup which will be determined at a later date and time.