Nine players for the Alliance St. Agnes Academy boy’s basketball team got into the score column on Thursday in a 55 to 24 win over Morrill. The Crusaders jumped out to a comfortable lead early in the game and never trailed. Leading the offense for the Academy was eighth grader Cisco Cody who tossed in 21 points. Alliance now sees its record go to 2 and 0 after the ball game which was played in Morrill. The Lions then would win the JV game by a 32 to 20 score. Top scorer for the Crusaders in the junior varsity contest was Enzo Kappius who netted 6 points.
Six first quarter points by Cody gave the early momentum to the guests. St. Agnes also got first period goals by Tripp Johnson and Joe Collins to gain an early lead. With under a minute left in the opener, Alliance went ahead 12 to 4 with another score by Johnson. The period closed with a three by the hosts and SA up in front 12 to 7. Cody’s big game continued in the second as the point guard nailed a three to push the Alliance margin to 15 to 7. Following a Lion basket, St. Agnes would score the game’s next 9 tallies. It began with a 2 pointer by Crusader Phoenix Red Nest. Cody then added a goal as the St. Agnes’ lead grew to 10. A Red Nest free throw followed that made the score 20 to 9. Back to back buckets by Cody and Kappius ensued which put the guests up 24 to 9 with under 2 minutes to play in the half. The half ended with a Lion three and a 2 by Alliance’s Declan Kirchner. After 12 minutes of action, the Academy led 26 to 12.
Seventeen third period points by the Crusaders put the contest out of reach. Danny Jelinek started the scoring for SA with a deuce. It was followed by 2 free throws by Cody and a Johnson triple which put the visitors ahead 33 to 12. Morrill stopped the rally with a three, but 8 straight points by the Crusaders made the tally 41 to 15 at the three minute mark. Scoring for the Academy during the run were: Cody, Grayson Dibrito, Johnson and Collins. The quarter came to a close with 2 Lion baskets and a two pointer by Kappius. Heading to the fourth, SA had a 43 to 19 lead. Eight quick tallies by the Academy is how the finale started. The Crusaders got baskets by Jelinek and Red Nest plus 4 more Cody points. After 2 free throws by the hosts, the final points for the Academy came from Collins and Tee Johnson. Final St. Agnes 55 Morrill 24
SA 12 14 17 12 55
MORR 7 5 7 5 24
Scoring Cody 21 Tripp Johnson 9 Collins 6 Red Nest 5 Kappius 4 Jelinek 4 Kirchner 2 Tee Johnson 2 Dibrito 2
A 12 to 2 advantage in the second period was just enough in Morrill winning the second game of the evening. The Lions downed SA 32 to 20. The game started with 4 consecutive points by Kappius as the Crusaders snagged the early lead at 4 to 0. Later in the quarter with SA up 4 to 2, a hoop by Crusader Emerson Trumble gave the guests a 6 to 2 lead. The period closed tied at 6 thanks to back to back buckets by Morrill. With the momentum on their side, the Lions surged ahead. The hosts scored the game’s next 7 points to go out in front 13 to 6. At the 3 minute mark, the Academy scored 2 on a hoop by Luke Jelinek. Five more Lion points concluded the half with Alliance down 18 to 8. Crusader guard Ashton Weingart and Kappius got the Academy on the board first in period #3 with baskets that made the scoreboard read Morrill 20 Alliance 12. A pair of Lions free throws were next, but SA came right back with a hoop by Liam Pena. The 6 minute stanza came to an end with another score by Morrill and another score by Pena. Heading to the fourth, the Lions led 24 to 16. St. Agnes sliced their deficit to 6 on their first possession as Crusader Jackson Chasek sank a jumper that made the score 24 to 18. At the midway mark, the Lions tallied 4 points to increase their advantage to 10. A hoop by Alliance’s Gage Finkey closed the scoring as the Lions went on for a 32 to 20 win.
The highlight of the game definitely came at the end of the second and fourth quarters. The St. Agnes players assisted a Morrill player with special needs score baskets in each period. It was great to see!
SA 6 2 8 4 20
MORR 6 12 6 8 32
Scoring Kappius 6 Pena 4 Finkey 2 Luke Jelinek 2 Chasek 2 Weingart 2 Trumble 2
St. Agnes hosted a round robin tournament on Saturday with 2 games vs Bayard and 2 games with Alliance Middle School.