A 10 to 2 run to begin the game powered the Alliance boy’s basketball team past North Platte 63 to 50 in a contest played in North Platte Friday night. The Bulldogs never trailed in the battle and improved to 2 and 1 for the year. Alliance got a solid performance from senior guard Payton Boyer who paced the Dogs with 21 points while grabbing 7 rebounds. Fellow senior Seth Meyring also was solid with 15 points and 9 boards. Juniors Espen Lanik and Trevor Zurn added 13 and 11 points respectively for the Dogs. Earlier in the evening, the Bulldog JV team fell to the hosts, dropping a 58 to 47 decision to the home town Bulldogs.
Momentum quickly went to the visitors in the opening stages of the first period. A two pointer by Boyer was followed by a Lanik three as Alliance raced to an early 5 to 0 lead. North Platte countered with a bucket but a goal by Meyring and a trey by Boyer gave the Bulldogs a 10 to 2 advantage. At the 4 minute mark, the hosts sliced their deficit to 4 with back to back buckets. The contest’s next 6 tallies all went to Alliance on hoops by Zurn, Boyer, and Lanik. North Platte scored a 3 in the final minutes and the period ended with the Bulldogs ahead 16 to 9. Defense was the name of the game for Alliance in the second as the home town Bulldogs were limited to just 3 points. An early goal by the Platters made the score 16 to 11 but a 9 consecutive Alliance points midway through the quarter pushed the Bulldog margin to 25 to 11. During the scoring spree, the Dogs got 7 points by Meyring and score by Lanik. The half came to a close with a free throw by NP and a 2 pointer by Zurn. After 16 minutes of action, Alliance was up 27 to 12.
Three pointers by Boyer and Lanik opened the scoring for Alliance in period #3. The treys gave the Dogs a lead at 33 to 14 in the opening moments of the third. Alliance’s lead then grew to 20 following back to back Boyer buckets. With under 4 minutes remaining, Boyer’s big night continued with another goal that pushed the guest’s advantage to 40 to 19. Following a 2 by North Platte, Alliance rattled off 5 in a row. A Zurn score and a 3 by Bulldog Tony Escamilla ensued as the visiting squad moved ahead 45 to 21. Four points by the Platters closed the scoring in the third with Alliance up 45 to 25. North Platte’s offense came to life in the final 8 minutes of play. The hosts tallied 25 points but it wasn’t enough. North Platte began the finale with 5 quick ones to closed to within 15. Another basket by Zurn stopped the run but a trey by NP and another two pointer made the score 47 to 35. Midway through the period, a bucket by Boyer and 4 big Meyring points kept the Dogs ahead at 53 to 38. The teams then traded treys with Zurn accounting for the one for Alliance. Down the stretch, North Platte was forced to fouls and free throws by Lanik and Boyer helped Alliance keep their margin. Also the visitors got another 2 pointer by Meyring to stop a comeback. Final Alliance 63 North Platte 50
ALL 16 11 18 18 63
NP 9 3 13 25 50
Scoring Boyer 21 Meyring 15 Lanik 13 Zurn 11 Escamilla 3
Alliance hosted Hot Springs on Saturday.