It was a rough start to the 2024-25 basketball season for the Gans High School teams as they each lost their first two Riverside Conference games of the season last week.
The Grizzlies lost 82-15 to Okay in the season opener Dec. 2 at Bryant “Big Country” Reeves Fieldhouse, then fell 66-29 on the road against Keota on Friday night.
The Jason Henry era for the Lady Grizzlies also got off to a rough start as they lost 63-16 to Okay and 41-15 to Keota.
In the Gans boys’ loss to Okay, the Mustangs put away the game right off the bat, taking a 32-0 lead after a quarter.
In defeat, Austin Hines led the Grizzlies (0-2 overall, 0-2 in conference play) with six points, followed by Phoenix Xiong with three points — thanks to a fourth-quarter 3-point basket with 21 seconds remaining in the game — and Bryce Stevens, Preston Bennett and TaeShawn Achan with two points apiece.
In the Gans boys’ loss to Keota, the Lions jumped out to an 1812 lead after a period, then used a 19-6 second quarter to put away the game as Keota took a 3718 halftime advantage. The Lions outscored the Grizzlies 29-11 in the second half.
In defeat, Jessie Phillips led Gans with eight points, followed by Hines with seven points, Garrett Overby with six points, Stevens and Lucas Flute with three points each and Bennett with two points.
In the Gans girls’ loss to Okay, the Lady Mustangs scored the game’s first nine points before Gans forward MaKinzie Kimble’s basket with 4:29 left in the first quarter got the Lady Grizzlies (0-2, 0-2) on the board to cut the Okay lead to 9-2. That ended up being as close as the Lady Grizzlies got on this night.
The Lady Mustangs ended the opening period on a 19-0 run to take a 28-2 lead into the second quarter. In defeat, Aaliyah Taylor led Gans with six points, thanks to a pair of 3-point baskets in the fourth quarter. Kimble scored five points, followed by Skylyn Bird and Maddie Freeman each scoring two points and MaKenzy Hunter hitting a free throw.
In the Gans girls’ loss to Okay, the Lady Lions put away the game early, jumping out to a 17-0 lead after a quarter and were never headed.
In defeat, Bird led Gans with four points, followed by Freeman with three points and K’Cee Osborn, Brighton Dorsey, Kimble and Taylor with two points apiece.
