Steers face tough competition at Fredericksburg tourney

The Graham Steers basketball team came out of its holiday break with a series of games over a tournament weekend at Fredericksburg last Thursday and Friday.

The team played four games over the course of the two-day tourney from Dec. 28-29 and faced stiff competition in each match-up. The tournament field included multiple high-level 4A teams and a few 5A teams, as well. The Steers played hard in every game but ultimately came away with a 1-3 record in the contests.

Listed below are the results of each of the team’s four games as well as some scoring statistics from each match-up.

Steers v. Fredericksburg (L), 58-56 OT

The Steers opened up their tournament run with a tough overtime loss to the Fredericksburg Billies. Graham led for most of the game before falling short in the extra period.

Fredericksburg kept things close the entire game, however, and Graham only led 27-23 at halftime. The Steers were led in the first half by Ty Thompson with 10 points and Keion Shead with 9 points.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Graham began to slow down and cool off some, which allowed the Billies to pull back and tie things up by the end of regulation. In the overtime period, Fredericksburg jumped out to a quick lead and the Steers were unable to pull back and lost by just two points.

Shead finished as the leading scorer for Graham with 20 points, followed by Thompson with 14 points and Tyson Weaver with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

Steers v. Liberty Hill (L), 71-53

Against the Panthers, the main struggles for Graham came on the defensive side of the ball. While the Steers put up 53 points, which is a strong offensive output, but surrendered 71 points.

The Steers played a close game throughout the first three quarters, and heading into the final frame, Graham trailed 54-43. But Liberty Hill found an extra gear in the fourth quarter and outscored the Steers 17-10 to give Graham the loss.

Liberty Hill was one of the 5A teams in the tournament field. The Panthers also faced Graham last year in this tournament and defeated the Steers by nearly 70 points so this year’s match-up proved to be a lot closer and showed Graham’s improvement.

Weaver had a big game in this one, leading the team with 21 points which included five 3-pointers made. Shead pitched in 7 points while Thompson scored 5 points.

Steers v. Salado (L), 66-57

Graham’s match-up with Salado proved to be another close game for the majority of the contest until the fourth quarter.

Through the first three quarters, while they never led, the Steers only trailed 44-42 heading into the final frame.

But when Graham needed stops to pull back into it for the win, the Eagles didn’t quit and outscored the Steers 22-17 in the final quarter to earn the win. Salado produced a balanced scoring offense that created problems for Graham’s defense.

The Steers were led by their senior Shead who finished with a game-high for both teams with 28 points. Thompson continued to provide steady offense as well with 9 points, and Cash Bowen recorded 6 points in the loss.

Steers v. Burnet (W), 63-62

Looking to salvage one win out of the four they played, the Steers pulled out a close one over the Bulldogs. Graham received scoring from nearly the entire team as they held on for the one-point win.

The Steers’ biggest lead came at the end of the first quarter when they finished the opening minutes with a 20-14 lead. After that, they led at halftime by one point and just two points heading into the fourth quarter.

Shead once again led the way for Graham with 20 points in this contest, Thompson scored 13 points, Weaver scored 8 points and Bowen pitched in 6 points. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Weaver was named to the All-Tournament team for his play.