Steers down Brownwood with last-second shot

As the Steers brought the ball down the court, sophomore Tyler Allen missed a mid-range jumper but junior Ty Thompson was in perfect position to collect the offensive rebound. The point guard immediately put it back up for two points and a 56-54 Graham lead with 9.1 seconds remaining.

All Brownwood had time for was a last-second long 3-point heave that barely even hit the backboard and the Steers held on for the district win Tuesday, Jan. 30 over the Lions this.

Thompson had been hitting the boards all night as he finished second on the team with eight rebounds, but six of them coming as offensive ones. His biggest rebound of the night helped push his team over the top to move them to 3-2 in district as Brownwood fell to 0-5.

It was a game that looked like it would come down to the wire all night. The two teams fought each other close with neither able to truly pull away. Graham’s biggest lead was nine points but it didn’t last long and Brownwood never led by more than a point.

The teams took a few minutes to get going early on. Thompson scored first after making 1-of-2 free throws to go up 1-0. The Steers built up an 11-5 lead after senior Kolby Spurlin hit a 3-pointer from the corner. Another two points from Spurlin and a layup from junior Cash Bowen and Graham led 15-13 after the first quarter.

Bowen scored again to start the second quarter off an assist from Thompson. The junior center didn’t miss a shot from close range in this game as he went 3-of-3 shooting from the field and finished with 10 points.

Senior Samuel Rodgers hit a 3-pointer from the corner and eventually the Steers led 24-17. Graham slowed down in the final minutes of the half and a Brownwood 3-pointer before the buzzer made the score 26-24 in the Steers’ favor going into halftime.

Starting the third quarter, Bowen made another free throw followed by Thompson scoring four straight points on steals for breakaway layups. Senior Keion Shead made 1-of-2 free throws after getting fouled hard at the rim and Thompson scored another fast break layup.

Rodgers hit his second 3-pointer of the game from the corner off an assist from Shead and Graham led 37-30. However, the Steers found themselves in some foul trouble and Brownwood entered the bonus in the final three minutes of the third quarter to help pull them back into it. As the teams went into the fourth quarter, Graham led 41-37.

In the beginning of the final period, Brownwood scored five straight points to take a 42-41 lead over Graham. It didn’t last long as Shead immediately scored on the other end to retake the lead for the Steers.

Graham played keepaway with the lead for nearly the entire quarter until the Lions found the offense to tie things up in the final minute. But it didn’t matter as Thompson came through again for the Steers and helped them earn their third district win in the final seconds.

Three Steers scored in double figures led by Shead with 15 points, Thompson with 14 points and Bowen with 10 points. Rodgers ended the game with 6 points while Spurlin had 5 points. Graham shared the ball well as six different players recorded assists led by Shead and Thompson with three each.

The Steers will hit the road again Tuesday, Feb. 6 for a district rematch at Mineral Wells with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.