Steers fall short in 50-43 loss at Henrietta

In their first game with a more complete varsity team, the Graham Steers fought hard against the Henrietta Bearcats but came up short at the end in a 50-43 loss.

As football season came to an end for the Steers last week, some members of that squad joined the basketball team for practices and this first game. There will still be some more blending together and chemistry that needs to get worked on, but this game on the road was a start for what this team could be.

A seven-point loss on the road isn’t a bad thing, and the Steers have a few more tournaments and standalone games before the team enters district play to start the new year. With a fuller roster, head coach Kyle Wood will be able to determine the best rotations and get Graham’s players working at the highest level.

In this match-up, the Steers stayed with the Bearcats the entire game, despite trailing for most of it. Henrietta led 10-7 after the first quarter as the home team knocked down a couple 3-pointers while Graham got one from Jagger Nees and a couple of buckets inside from Nikolas Wankowicz.

The teams played each other almost even in the second quarter. Nees hit his second shot from behind the arc, Wankowicz scored another two points and Ty Thompson — joining the team after football ended — scored his first four points of the season.

But the Bearcats connected on a couple more shots from 3-point range while getting contributions inside to take a 22-18 lead into halftime.

Coming out of the break, sophomore Brodie Martin got hot as he scored 10 of Graham’s 12 points in the third quarter. Martin drove into the lane and scored a few times inside but also stepped out for a 3-point shot of his own.

The Steers’ other two points in the frame came from another football insert, as Cooper Corley scored his first two points of the year on a couple of free throws after getting fouled. The visitors closed the gap even more and trailed just 32-30 heading into the final period.

But from that point on is where the Bearcats showed what they’re made of. Henrietta continued to build on its lead, and with time winding down in the game, the Steers were forced to foul to try to keep things close.

Henrietta shot 14 free throws in the final eight minutes of play and converted eight of them (57%). Graham kept the pressure on as Tyler Allen scored four points, Bryce Martin knocked down a 3-pointer of his own, Thompson scored a few times and Corley and Thomason Burkett each earned a free throw.

However, the deficit was too much and Henrietta made the necessary free throws to hold on for the win.

Brodie Martin led the team in scoring with 10 points followed by Thompson with 8 points. Wankowicz and Nees both had 6 points, Bryce Martin had 5 points and Allen finished with 4 points.

Following the team’s run in the Red, White & Blue Tournament held in Graham, the Steers will stay home for a match-up at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17 against Iowa Park.