Brandon Bailey 3-on-3 Shootout has another successful event

The Brandon Bailey 3-on-3 Shootout kicked off early Saturday morning on May 28 with the preliminary games, and concluded Saturday night with the championship games in Newcastle. Athletes of all ages formed basketball teams from all across the Texoma and North Texas regions. 

Preliminary action started at 8 a.m at the Graham Junior High gym and at the Newcastle gym. Games were played every 20 minutes at the two gyms for the majority of the day. Both gyms had T-shirt tables set up where participants could get commemorative T-shirts.  The concession stands served breakfast burritos and doughnuts to the early morning crowd, and switched over to hamburgers and hot dogs for the lunch crowds. Potter’s Pizza also supplied pizza for the lunch rush.

In each age division the teams got the chance to play two games in pool play before being seeded into single elimination bracket play. Once the teams were seeded into bracket play they were fighting for the chance to make it to the championship game in their division that was played Saturday night in Newcastle.

The elementary boys and girls, the junior high boys and girls, the high school girls and the adult women were at the Graham Junior High gym until about 4 p.m.

In Newcastle, the high school boys, college boys and girls and adult men’s teams were doing battle until around the same time.

“Teams traveled from Jacksboro, Electra, Olney, Woodson, Seymour, Childress, Abilene, Weatherford, Stephenville, Throckmorton, Brock, Hamilton,  Archer City, Graham and many more places to take part in the days activities,” Brandon Bailey’s mother Gayle Bailey, said.

Bailey kicked off the championship games at 6 p.m. by thanking the sponsors, workers, spectators and players. She stated that the sale of every hot dog, hamburger, T-shirt and every team membership went to supply scholarships to deserving area students. 

The scholarship recipients for 2016 were then announced and introduced. From Newcastle, Matthew Lowe received a $4,000 scholarship. Lacy Lewelling, Heather Manos, and Sabrina Barnes from Newcastle each received a $500 scholarship.

Others receiving $500 scholarships included Stetson McPherson from Woodson, Kolton Piercy from Olney, Weston Womack from Graham and Luke Hale from Throckmorton. 

Bailey thanked everyone for the support of the Bailey family and the memory of her son Brandon, and she said that they were “honored, humbled and focused on turning their tragedy into a benefit and blessing for others.

In the four years since the Brandon Bailey Memorial Scholarship has been established, Bailey announced that they have been able to give away $29,500 in local area scholarships. She went on to say that it was the reason they wanted to acknowledge and thank all of those who come out and support the tournament, and in turn the scholarship, in memory of Brandon.

The championship games then got under way at the Newcastle gym.  The gym was packed and full of excitement for the next two hours. Each team and runner up was presented with a special dog tag commemorating the special event and their placing.

In the elementary girl’s division first place went to the Jacksboro Tigerettes. On that team was Lynsey Little, Ashlyn Nunley, Dalia Gonzalez and Aailiyah Dehoyos. Second place went to the Red Hots from Throckmorton. On that team was Tori Hantz, Austyn Groote, Hannah Gage and Kylie Woods.

The Newcastle Golden Bulls took first place in the elementary boys division. Members of the Golden Bulls included Ty Strawbridge, Lane Dollar, Porter Johnson and Issac King, coach. Second place was We ARE from Hamilton.

In the junior high girls division, the Lady Steers from Graham took first. On that team was Chloe Menard, Alex Husen, Claire Jones and Rosie Schaffer. Second place was the Lady Reds from Graham. Their team members included McKynna Bozeman, Annissa Moreno, Katie Cogac, Shae Mercer and Cambrie Cowser.

The Graham Steers took home first place in the junior high boys division. Bryce Bozeman, Rhett Bullard, Brody Rogers and Evan Ranger were on that team. Second place was Small, Medium and Large from Newcastle. Boomer Whitaker, Hunter Martinez, Ryan Canada and J.T. Spurlin made up the team from Newcastle.

Newcastle’s Quadruple Threat finished in first place in the high school girls division. Lacy Lewelling, Hannah Birdwell, K.C. Shields and Madison Frazier made up their team. The Elites from Olney finished in second with Shae Sallee, Geri Heath and Jae Montgomery making up their team.

In the high school boys division, the Ballerz from Electra finished in first. Bobby Doss, Noah Caldwell, Levi Fillmore and Jonathan Barrera made up their team. The second place team was the Electra Tigers. On their team was Brady Doss, Xavier Waggoner, Andrew Marsh, Timothy Smith and Landon Bottlinger.

Stephenville’s Big 4 finished in first in the college girls division. On their squad was Courtney Bailey, Jenna Evans, Amy Clayborn and K.C. Shields. Second place was Cream of the Crop from Breckenridge. Their team members included Marley Boyd, Madison Koonsman, Samantha Anthony and Sumer Abshire.

MLB from Graham took home first in the college boys division. Bryce Reeves, Mike Freeze and Landon Gonzalez made up Graham’s team. Second place was Throckmorton’s 0-76ers. Hayden Farquahar, Chase Cook, Jared Smith and Matthew Acree made up their team.

The Golden Girls of Graham won the adult women’s division. Their team had Courtney Bozeman, Chrysti Mercer and Cassey Henlon. Graham’s Triple Threat finished second with Misty Mills, Brandi White, Tessa Boenish and Natalie Husen on their squad.

The last division was the adult men. Stephenville’s PRIDE took home the prize. Kyle Spitzer, Wade Spitzer, Stew Brown and Spencer Bennett were on that team. Carnage from Graham took second place. 

The Brandon Bailey Memorial Scholarship Board and the Bailey family would like to thank all of the sponsors of this year’s tournament for their continued support. Bonnie and Staci Blevins, Bruce and Gayle Bailey, David and Stephanie Quinn, Doug and Ruby Quinn, Farmers State Bank, Gordon and Wendy Grubbs, Henry and Nancy Smith, Jack and Lisa Little, Spitzer Animal Health, Wilson and LaFonda Taack, Ben and Karen and Ashley Taylor, David Rogers Construction and David and Joni Rogers, Potter’s Pizza, Olney Fuel Supply, Twelve Oaks Dental and Jamie Epperson, Clint and Erica Ledbetter, Jerry’s Meat Market and Grocery, In Memory of Betty and Hugh Grubbs, Newcastle FFA , Nita Wells, Cutburth Construction,  Seed-Tex Grain Elevator, Newcastle ISD and Graham ISD.