Olney senior forward Eli Johnson goes up for a shot against Graford

Cubs suffer 71-39 loss in season opener

GRAFORD— Despite a strong start, a flurry of second quarter 3-pointers by the Graford High School Jackrabbits doomed the Olney Cubs in the season opener 71-39.

The Cubs seemed in contention early, with three lead changes early, but the Jackrabbits went on a 27-3 run in the second quarter with many of those points coming from beyond the arch.

“We were doing things right, we were running our plays,” said OHS senior guard Carson Fite, who lead Olney in scoring with 11 points. “We were boxing out and getting rebounds. We got too sure of ourselves and didn’t do what we were supposed to do. [The scoring run] made us think, oh we’re in trouble.”

The Cubs briefly took a 5-4 lead on a layup by senior forward Eli Johnson and a 3-pointer by Fite, but Graford seemed to answer every shot. After taking an 11-9 lead on a 3-pointer by Graford senior guard Casey Christian, a technical foul by Johnson put Graford in the driver seat following a free throw and a bucket on the ensuing possession. A jumper by Olney senior guard Brent McCorkle and a 3-pointer by Fite in the final seconds of the first quarter pulled the Cubs within three, but that was as close to victory as the Cubs would get Tuesday night.

“Graford has good shooters, but six of the three 3-pointers they hit were uncontested,” Olney coach Carl Pennington said. “We were not rotating. If you leave good shooters open by themselves, they are going to make them. I was disappointed with our defensive effort on the rotation.”

Following Fite’s 3-pointer, Olney seemed primed to retake the lead after starting the second quarter with the ball. Graford had other plans, and switched to a man-to-man defense that the Cubs could not penetrate.

“There were playing good defense, but it was also lack of execution on our part,” Pennington said. “We were not setting our picks or screens. We were running down there and running into each other. At the start of the second half, we started running our offense and looking better. We started slowing down. I have to remember that only three of our guys have started in varsity basketball.

Despite sustaining a 32-point loss, Pennington believes there were some positives to take away from the game, but said the Cubs will need to work on defense before facing Jacksboro Friday.

“I’ll take the blame for this,” Pennington said. “I thought we were in better shape and prepared. We will be prepared next time.” 

The Junior Varsity won 38-25. Arturo Vasquez led the Cubs in scoring with 16 points.