Comeback falls short as Steers lose 55-52 to Glen Rose

In what was a true rollercoaster of a game, the Graham Steers ultimately came up short in their comeback attempt as they took a loss 55-52 to the Glen Rose Tigers.

The Steers experienced the highs and lows in this matchup Friday, Feb. 2 as they held a sizable lead at halftime but allowed the Tigers to get back into it. The loss dropped the Steers to 3-3 in district, good for third place while the Tigers kept their district record perfect at 6-0 and held onto first.

Graham started the game a bit slow as Glen Rose worked an early 10-3 lead in the opening minutes. The two teams battled physically and the Steers earned some free throws after a Tiger complained about not getting a foul call and instead got hit with a technical foul.

Senior Samuel Rodgers connected on the team’s first 3-pointer of the game from the corner followed a few minutes later by sophomore Tyler Allen’s first 3-pointer to help the Steers get the score back to 12-11.

Senior Keion Shead got on the board in the final minutes after collecting an offensive rebound and getting fouled, where he earned two free throws. At the end of the first quarter, Graham trailed just 14-13.

Junior Ty Thompson gave the Steers their first lead to start the second quarter on a mid-range jump shot assisted by Shead. The Steers slowly but surely built up a lead over the visiting Tigers thanks to a steady offensive attack with a mix of inside and outside scoring.

Allen hit his second 3-pointer of the game, this one from the corner off an assist from Shead. Junior center Cash Bowen made his presence known inside as he scored four straight points to give Graham their biggest lead of the game at 29-19.

The Tigers hit a 3-pointer shortly after that and the score was 29-22 in favor of the Steers as the team’s went into the locker rooms.

The start of the second half is where the rollercoaster took a turn downward for Graham. Glen Rose scored 13 straight unanswered points to start the third quarter as the Tigers quickly took a 35-29 lead.

It wasn’t until over three minutes into the period that Thompson got fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to get Graham their first points.

Shead earned a couple of free throws a minute later but that was all the scoring the Steers got in the quarter as they trailed 43-33 heading into the final minutes.

“The biggest thing was to just keep playing,” head coach Kris Hise said about his message to the team at halftime. “Keep competing, keep trying to stop the drive and (the Tigers) came out in the third quarter and we were not able to stop the drive so that hurt us.”

The Steers had to regroup in the fourth quarter as they attempted their comeback. Shead attacked the rim on multiple occasions and earned six free throws in the quarter, all of which he made. He also assisted senior Tyson Weaver on his only 3-pointer of the game.

Shead’s sixth free throw tied the game at 46-46 with a little over two minutes to play. Glen Rose retook the lead despite Thompson and freshman Brodie Martin pulling things close with baskets in the final minutes.

Trailing 55-52, the Steers had 3.4 seconds to get one final shot off in an attempt to tie the game and send it to overtime. Allen received the inbounds pass and got off a corner 3-pointer but it was contested and fell short which gave the Tigers the win.

“I thought we played well and had a chance to tie it up at the end,” Hise said. “I thought we played three really good quarters…didn’t seem like anything went our way in the third. We regrouped, talked to them at the end of the third, and we regrouped and it was fine. I think going into the next two games we’re in a good spot.”

Thompson finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists while Shead ended with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, as well. Allen had 6 points while Weaver and Bowen each pitched in 4 points.

The Steers will have an open weekend before their final regular season game of the season at Stephenville next Tuesday, Feb. 13 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

JV Results

The JV Red team defeated Glen Rose 64-40. Cooper Corley led the team with 28 points followed by Travis Alveraz with 15 points, Jagger Nees with 9 points, Thomason Burket with 8 points and Nik Wankowicz and Cooper Wilde with 2 points apiece.

The JV Blue team took a loss 40-32 to Glen Rose. Andon Masterfield had 7 points while Jaden Neal, Damon Alcantar and Jewelz Howard had 6 points each. Obed Trejo had 3 points and Cason Walker and Meldi Romeral each finished with 2 points.