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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Cooper Corley races down court for a transition layup Tuesday, June 3 against the Albany Lions. Corley clinched the game after sinking a clutch free throw to pick up a 33-32 Steers win. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Obed Trejo attempts a corner three against the May Tigers in their matchup Tuesday, June 3. Trejo established himself as a threat on the perimeter. -
Jagger Nees commands the offense in Graham’s summer league basketball opener Tuesday, June 3. Nees ran the point guard position and found multiple open look opportunities in both of Graham’s contests.
The community celebrated Memorial Day not that long ago and that means the unofficial start of the summer. With that being said, Graham and Newcastle athletics have fully shifted into their summer leagues and camps.
Lady Blues volleyball had its start to their league Monday, June 2 and Steers and Bobcats basketball picked things right up with their league openers Tuesday, June 3. However, both of them, in unconventional fashion, did not finish the night as planned.
Both the Steers and Bobcats basketball teams kicked off their schedules Tuesday evening against the May Tigers and Munday Moguls, respectively. However, after those opening games concluded is when something unprecedented happened.
After Graham concluded its opener in the auxiliary gym of Breckenridge ISD Athletic Center, Newcastle waited patiently for the Breckenridge Buckaroos to conclude their matchup against the Albany Lions.
The Bobcats were scheduled to play the Cisco Loboes following the Buckaroos, but about halfway through the aforementioned contest, mother nature got the best of Breckenridge’s facility.
Leaks from the ceiling due to the outside thunderstorm led to not only the Buckaroos and Lions matchup being canceled, but any following matchups, including Newcastle’s, effectively ending their night short.
The Bobcats will open things back in the auxiliary gym this upcoming Tuesday, June 10 against the Clyde Bulldogs at 5 p.m.
As for the Steers, the show went on in the main gym as they faced off against the Lions in their second and final matchup of the night.
Brodie Martin kicked off the scoring for the Steers with a tough layup and the team jumped out to a 5-2 lead early.
Nick Wankowicz was also pivotal in the paint grabbing multiple boards and putting up several second chance shots for the Steers.
Ultimately, game two was a very close matchup with the first half ending with the Steers hanging onto a 17-14 lead.
Albany fought back multiple times in the second half making it a one-point game several times but Graham seemed to always have an answer. Jagger Nees had a nice breakaway on a turnover to finish on the other end with a layup to make it 25-19.
The team also had a collaborative effort on an “around the world” three which made it 28-24 later in the half.
However, in the closing minute of the game, it looked like the victory might slip through Graham’s fingers. They were trailing 32-30 with around 24 seconds left, but the team came down the floor and executed a game tying make facilitated by precision passing.
Following this, Cooper Corley had the heads up awareness to pick off a pass from Albany from half court and draw contact on a foul for potentially game winning free throw attempts. After missing his first shot, Corley composed himself and nailed the second resulting in a 33-32 win and a sweep on the day for varsity games.
Overall coach Chris Corley was impressed with the team but said they had some rust to shake off.
“We had a lot of rust to get off,” Corley said. “Once the rust came off, they started playing as a team and I think they did pretty well.”
The Steers pick up next week at the Breckenridge ISD Athletic Center for matchups Tuesday, June 10 against the Olney Cubs at 5 p.m. and the Munday Moguls at 6:30 p.m.
