Big second and third quarters by the St. Agnes boy’s basketball team propelled the Academy past the Bulldogs of Alliance Middle School 37 to 29 in a contest played at the Holy Rosary Parish Center on Saturday. The Crusaders outscored the Dogs 27 to 8 in periods 2 and 3 then held off a late AMS rally. With the victory, the Academy now sees its record go to 3 and 0 on the year. Top scorers for the Crusaders were Tripp Johnson who had 13 points while teammate Cisco Cody added 12. Leading the way for AMS were Israel Garcia and Eddie Red Nest who each tallied 8 points. The contest was to be played in a round robin format, but due to the weather Bayard was not able to attend leaving just one game between the 2 varsity teams.
Things started off fantastic for the Dogs. AMS scored the game’s first 13 points and raced to a big lead. Early hoops by Casyn Nelson and Red Nest began the match with AMS out in front 4 to 0. A three pointer by Nelson then pushed the Dog lead to 7 and 0 as the Crusaders failed to get untracked. The period came to a close with 2 Garcia tallies and a bucket by Zander Narjes that put the score at 13 to 0. St. Agnes would finally get a basket by Cody and the quarter ended with AMS up 13 to 2.
Momentum then quickly went to the side of the Academy in the second. The Crusaders would tally 12 points in the quarter while the Bulldogs went cold and didn’t score a point. A Cody free throw and a hoop began the rally. Johnson then sliced the Crusader deficit with a three pointer that put the score at 13 to 8. At the midway stage of the period, another goal by Cody pulled SA to with 3. The second came to a finish with St. Agnes getting 2 point goals by Danny Jelinek and Johnson and the Academy ahead 14 to 13.
St. Agnes put together their best scoring period of the contest, scoring 15 points. The Crusaders got 6 big points by Joe Collins in the quarter to maintain their lead. Many of the Academy points in the period came off some nice passes by Crusader Grayson Dibrito. Two free throws by Johnson and another trey by the Academy 8th grader followed as the Crusaders were hitting on all cylinders. Hoops by Phoenix Red Nest and Cody ended the period with SA in front 29 to 21. Scoring for the Dogs in period #3 were Nelson, Red Nest, and Narjes. Play was even in the fourth with both squads netting 8 points each. Four Garcia points helped AMS stay in striking distance. The Academy countered with 3 points apiece by Cody and Johnson plus a goal by Red Nest. Putting points on the board for the Bulldogs in the finale were Red Nest and Kyler Hamel. Final SA 37 AMS 29
AMS 13 0 8 8 29
SA 2 12 15 8 37
Scoring for AMS Garcia 8 Red Nest 8 Nelson 7 Narjes 4 Hamel 2
Scoring for SA Johnson 13 Cody 12 Collins 6 Red Nest 4 Jelinek 2
A two 8 minute period game was next that featured the B team for AMS and the St. Agnes JV club. The Dogs downed the Academy 19 to 7. AMS jumped out a big lead in the first and never trailed. In the first, the Bulldogs tallied 13 points while hold the Academy to just three. Top scorers for the Middle School in the quarter were Cormic Stark and Cole Wherli who netted 4 points each. Adding 3 in the frame was James Scriven while scoring a 2 pointer was Esai Trejo. For the Academy, Tee Johnson had a hoop and the Crusaders got a free throw from Ashton Weingart. In the second, action was close with AMS scoring 6 points and SA getting 4 on the board. Four more Stark points paced the Bulldog offense while the guests also got a basket by Xavier Rodriguez. Two free throws by Crusader Jaden Estevane-Acosta got the Academy in the scoring column while Liam Pena tossed in a two pointer for SA. Final AMS 19 SA 7
AMS 13 6 19
SA 3 4 7
Scoring for AMS Stark 8 Wherli 4 Scriven 3 Trejo 2 Rodriguez 2
Scoring for SA Tee Johnson 2 Pena 2 Estevane-Acosta 2 Weingart 1
The Dogs played Chadron on Tuesday 7th away 8th home while the Crusaders got to Chadron on Thursday.
(Photos by Shaun Friedrichsen)
