Expectations are high for the Alliance St. Agnes boys basketball team for the 2025 season. The Crusaders return a lot of talent from last year’s squad and started their campaign with a pair of home games against Hyannis on Tuesday. Alliance downed the visiting Longhorns in the opening A game,
55 to 24 while Hyannis took the B game or JV contest 31 to 18. St. Agnes begins their varsity year with a 1 and 0 record and the JV team starts 0 and 1.
Two Crusaders- eighth graders Tripp Johnson and Cisco Cody-ended in double figures with 19 and 12 points respectively. Johnson who drained 5 three pointers got many fine passes from Cody. Fellow 8th grader Grayson Dibrito also was sharp for the Academy, finishing with 6 points and many rebounds. Top scorers in the B game were Tee Johnson and Luke Jelinek who tallied 6 points each. A hoop by the Academy’s Phoenix Red Nest began the scoring for SA. Johnson followed with his first trey but Hyannis answered with strong scoring from their post players. The period closed with the Crusaders up by 1 at 10 to 9. Alliance would get a 2 pointer by Joe Collins and 3 points by Cody to take a small leading after one quarter of action. The second was a good one for the hosts. St. Agnes would outscore the Horns 14 to 3. A three by Johnson started the spree. It was followed by goals by Crusaders Danny Jelinek and Enzo Kappius. The half came to an end with another three by Johnson and back to back scores by Dibrito. After 2 periods of play, the teams went to half with the Academy ahead 24 to 12.
Only four Crusaders would get into the scorebook in period #3. In all, Alliance scored 13 points in the quarter and increased its margin. Cody started the scoring with a goal and it was followed by a three ball by Johnson as St. Agnes kept its advantage. Hoops by Cody, Johnson, and Collins helped Alliance maintain its lead midway through the stanza. Period 3 came to a close with 2 free throws by Cody and the Academy out in front 37 to 19.
St. Agnes had their best scoring quarter in the fourth. The Academy netted 18 points. Cody continued his fine play with a bucket to start the period. Alliance’s next tally came from Johnson who canned his fifth trey of the evening. Another goal by Red Nest was followed by a good free throw by Cody and score by the points guard as the Crusaders made things difficult for the Horns. The contest finished with Alliance getting 2 point goals by Johnson, Collins, Tee Johnson, and Braden Myers. Final St. Agnes 55 Hyannis 24
HY 9 3 7 5 24
SA 10 14 13 18 55
Scoring Tripp Johnson 19 Cody 12 Dibrito 6 Collins 6 Red Nest 4 Kappius 2 Tee Johnson 2 Myers 2 Jelinek 2
In the nightcap, Hyannis slowly pulled away in getting the victory. The Longhorns outscored the Academy in the first, second, and fourth quarters while the tallies were even in the third. St. Agnes got an early hoop by Mason Conyers to start their scoring. Later in the period, Luke Jelinek got into the score column as SA stayed in striking distance. Period 1 concluded with the guests out in the lead 6 to 4. Two free throws by Crusader Tatum Devlin helped the hosts stay close early in the second. Back to back baskets by Jelinek midway through the quarter gave SA hope and the half ended with St. Agnes down 15 to 10. Both teams tallied 8 points apiece in the third. Tee Johnson led the Crusader offense with 6 points in the quarter while Declan Kirchner added a 2 pointer. Heading to the fourth, Hyannis had a 23 to 18 lead. The Horns put the contest away in the final 6 minutes, outscoring the Academy 8 to 0. Final Hyannis 31 Alliance 18
HY 6 9 8 8 31
SA 4 6 8 0 18
Scoring Luke Jelinek 6 Tee Johnson 6 Conyers 2 Devlin 2 Kirchner 2
Alliance traveled to Morrill on Thursday then hosted AMS and Bayard on Saturday in a round robin tournament.