A 26 point and 11 rebound performance from senior Seth Meyring powered the Alliance boy’s basketball team past Pine Bluffs 75 to 67 in a ball game played in Alliance Saturday evening. Meyring was especially solid in the final quarter, pacing the Bulldog offense with 10 points. Junior Espen Lanik continued his fine performance for Alliance by netting 24 points. The Dogs now see their record go to 8 and 3 for the year. Also having a big night was junior Lexton Salcido who added 15 points. Alliance also got the W in the junior varsity contest played earlier at the Middle School. The Dogs performed a full court press in the final period and slowly pulled away from the Hornets in getting a 58 to 45 win.
Points were plentiful in the opening quarter. Ten first period points by Lanik led the Bulldog offense. The early advantage went to the guests. Pine Bluffs raced to a quick 7 to 3 lead. Alliance would get a three pointer by Payton Boyer but fell behind by 4. The Dogs answered with a Lanik hoop and a trey by Salcido to move ahead 8 to 7 at the five minute stage. A Hornet free throw tied the game at 8 but the Bulldogs surge ahead with 14 consecutive points to take a 22 to 8 lead. A three by Lanik started the spree. It was followed by 2 pointers by Meyring and Boyer. Another three ball by Lanik gave the hosts a double digit margin and it was followed by a 2 for the Alliance lefty and another bucket by Meyring. Down by 14, PB finished the period with 5 in a row and the stanza ended with AHS up 22 to 13.
Pine Bluffs would outscore the Dogs 18 to 13 in the second. Play started with 2 free throws by the Hornets. Lanik kept Alliance with ahead with 2 from the charity stripe as the Bulldogs stayed ahead by 9. A 6 to 2 run by the visitors made things interesting midway through the quarter. A Meyring goal during the spree made the score 26 to 21 in favor of the hosts. The teams then swapped scores with Alliance getting tallies from Salcido and a three by Trevor Zurn. Up 10, the Bulldogs went scoreless in the final 2 minutes while the Hornets scored 6 in a row. Alliance took a 35 to 31 lead into the half.
Play remained tight in the third. An early three by Salcido plus a 2 by Meyring helped Alliance stay out in front. Pine Bluffs refused to go away. The Hornets closed to within 2 at 40 to 38 with 5 points in a row. A Meyring goal stopped the run, but another Hornet basket kept the guests close. At the 4 minute stage, the guests tied the contest at 42 but a Lanik two pointer gave the lead back to the Dogs. PB would again knot the score at 44 following a basket as the period came to an end. Alliance finished with a fury in the final moments. Free throws by Lanik, Meyring, and Salcido plus a Lanik goal gave the Bulldogs a lead at 51 to 44 heading to the fourth.
Things looked good for the hosts in the opening minutes of the finale with 2 quick baskets by Meyring to push the Dogs’ lead to 9. Pine Bluffs countered with back to back treys to get within 3 at 59 to 56. A Meyring free throw ensued but another Hornet score reduced the Alliance lead to just 2. An old fashion three point play by Meyring followed that put the Hornet deficit at 5 with 4 minutes left in the game. PB then scored to narrow the Alliance lead to 3 at 63 to 60. With 3 minutes remaining, another score by Lanik was followed by a huge three point play by Salcido that put the hosts up 68 to 60. The teams then traded points with Alliance getting points from Lanik and Boyer. Meyring concluded his big evening with another tally that pushed the Bulldog lead to 13. The contest ended with 5 straight Hornet points but it wasn’t enough. Final Alliance 75 Pine Bluffs 67
PB 13 18 16 20 67
ALL 22 13 20 20 75
Scoring Meyring 26 Lanik 24 Salcido 15 Boyer 7 Zurn 3
Alliance will be at home on Saturday with a matchup with Bridgeport.