Steers come up short in 60-58 loss to Sanger

It came down to the final seconds of the game but the Graham Steers came out on the losing end of a 60-58 match-up against the Sanger Indians.

Stats-wise, the two teams were even Tuesday, Nov. 21 in just about every major category that contributes to a win or a loss. Both teams shot 42% from the field with Sanger converting 38% from 3-point range while Graham hit 36% from deep. The Steers had a higher free throw percentage in the game, as well.

The visiting Indians, however, took control of the game early as they jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter against the home-team Steers. The Indians had a hot shooting start to the game as they hit multiple shots from behind the arc while playing tough defense on the Steers.

Near the end of the first quarter, Sanger held a 25-12 lead over Graham as the Steers were still trying to get things going. Through the first few minutes of the second quarter, the Steers pulled within three points of the Indians after Keion Shead drained a straightaway 3-pointer off an assist from Tyson Weaver.

After a Sanger 2-pointer and a couple made free throws by Shead to make it 32-29 with just under three minutes to play in the first half, both teams struggled with fouls in the remaining minutes and the Indians hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds to go up 37-32 into halftime.

Shead continued his impressive performance to open the second half as he got Graham on the board thanks to a steal and breakaway layup for two points. On the team’s next possession, Weaver pulled up for a 3-pointer to make it 39-37 in Sanger’s favor.

The Steers continued to let the ball fly from deep as Samuel Rodgers knocked down a triple off a long cross-court assist from Weaver to pull the team within one point as they trailed 41-40 midway through the third quarter.

About a minute later, Graham tied Sanger on a running floater in the lane from Ty Thompson which was heavily contested.

On the team’s next possession, Shead gave Graham its first lead of the game after converting one-of-two free throws to put them up 45-44.

A few minutes later, Sanger had retaken the lead and the teams went into the fourth quarter with Graham trailing 48-47.
Both teams entered the final minutes looking to pull out a big win in a tightly contested match-up. Graham struck first thanks to a corner 3-pointer from Brodie Martin to make it 50-48 for the Steers.

Following the made basket, however, Graham went through a cold stretch over the next few minutes as Sanger retook the lead and pushed it to 55-52.

The Indians took their time on every possession, attempting to run out the clock and earn easy points with their passing.

Sanger took a 58-52 lead on a wide open layup and a converted-and-1 free throw with about a minute and a half remaining in the game. Graham ended the scoring drought after Shead pulled down an offensive rebound then put up a layup while getting fouled in the process.

Shead missed the free throw and Tyler Allen secured an offensive rebound. Allen put up a 2-pointer from the elbow but missed and one of Sanger’s players was fouled shortly after. The Indians converted two free throws to extend the lead to 60-54 with about 40 seconds remaining.

Shead and Allen responded with back-to-back 2-pointers to make it 60-58.

In the final seconds, Shead tried for the tie and put up a turnaround contested fadeaway 2-pointer that hit the back rim and bounced away, securing Sanger’s victory and the loss for Graham.

After Graham plays Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Comanche, the Steers will compete in a tournament at Haskell over the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 2.