Alva Review-Courier -

Waukomis – After opening their season with a 50-41 win over Chisholm Tuesday, the Alva Goldbugs basketball team fared poorly in the Mustang Stampede Tournament at Pioneer-Pleasant Vale. Ranked seventh in the tournament, the Goldbugs were paired with second rank Hennessey in the first round Thursday morning, losing 54-33.

The Friday afternoon matchup against sixth ranked Harding Charter School was closer with a loss of 49-41. Braden Hofen led the scoring in that game with 10 points followed by Kaden Slater with six and Austin Reed with 5.

The Goldbugs met Oklahoma Bible Academy of Enid Saturday morning in the tournament’s seventh place contest and lost 47-40. Alva started off well against the Trojans in the first quarter ending with a lead of 11-8. Things heated up in the second quarter with the lead changing hands several times culminating in a 21-21 tie at the half.

Chuck Shelite led the first half scoring with five points for the Goldbugs, and Austin Reed had four. The Goldbugs were hitting about half of their free throw attempts but had trouble getting their basket attempts to fall through the hoop.

The Trojans hit the floor running in the second half with a 5-0 scoring rush for a 26-21 lead. Jackson Feely hit a three for Alva, and Baylor Rust added two to tie the score at 26-26. Steals by Feely and Reed gave the Goldbugs momentum, but they couldn’t capitalize on the advantage. Reed was fouled on his layup but missed both opportunities.

OBA scored on a basket and a free throw to pull ahead 29-26. Cole Hague added two for Alva, but the Trojans answered with two baskets. Baylor Rust made a basket for the Goldbugs just before the third period ended. OBA led 34-30.

Alva’s cold shooting didn’t improve in the final quarter. OBA scored two on a turnover. Reed had another chance at the free throw line after being fouled during a shot attempt. He missed both. OBA scored on another basket. The Trojans forced a turnover and O’Neil was fouled on his scoring attempt. He made the second of two tries, and OBA led 39-30.

Reed hit a nice three-pointer to put Alva within six points at 39-33. OBA added a couple more points. Then Feely found three-point range for another Alva score. The Trojans missed their next try, but O’Neil was fouled and made the second of his two tries. Another basket by Wilson put OBA ahead 41-33. Feely made another trey, moving Alva within five.

Neither team could get the ball through the hoop on their next few tries. As the game came down to the final minutes, Shelite fouled three times to try for Alva possession. OBA managed two free throw points and led 45-36. Feely forced a steal and made a basket. Alva trailed 45-38. Another Alva foul led to a couple of good free throws for the Trojans and a 47-38 lead. As the clock wound down, Shelite made good on a run at the basket for the final score of 47-40 in favor of OBA.

Feely led the Alva scoring with 11 points. He was also credited with eight rebounds and six steals. Reed and Shelite tallied seven points each. Rust had seven. Slater had three points but made an impression on the boards with nine rebounds.

The Goldbugs will no doubt be doing some work on free throws as they made only three of 11 attempts. They had some good shots at the basket from the field but just couldn’t get the ball through hoop on the majority of tries.

The Goldbugs are now 1-3 on the young season. Tuesday night, the Goldbugs play their first home game as they host Blackwell in an 8 p.m. tipoff.