Still smarting from a Friday loss to Chadron, the Alliance boy’s basketball team was back on the court on Tuesday with a road contest in Gordon. The Bulldogs rebounded with a strong effort, defeating the Mustangs 79 to 31. With the victory, Alliance goes to 10 and 4 for the year. The Dogs ended with 4 players finishing in double figurers, led by junior Espen Lanik who tallied 23 points while fellow junior Trevor Zurn netted 17 points. Seniors Seth Meyring and Payton Boyer added 15 and 11 points in a contest in which the Dogs took a big first quarter lead and were never threatened.
Alliance’s offense got off to a slow start but rebounded with 28 first period points. It was Gordon starting the contest with the early advantage. The hosts scored 6 of the game’s first 8 points and held a brief lead at 6 to 2. Meyring accounted for Alliance’s first goal. Another bucket by Meyring ensued and following a three pointer by Lanik, AHS grabbed its first lead at 7 to 6. A Mustang basket was next but the game soon got away from the hosts. Down 8 to 7, the Bulldog offense erupted with the game’s next 19 points. Meyring started the rally with another 2 pointer. It was followed by a trey by Lanik and back to back goals by Zurn. At the 3 minute mark, a three point play by Meyring gave the Dogs a 19 to 8 lead. The spree then closed with more tallies by Lanik and Meyring. With one minute left in the quarter, the Bulldog margin grew to 26 to 8. The opener concluded with 4 points by the Mustangs and 2 by Lanik. After one quarter of action, the Dogs led 28 to 12.
Any thoughts of a Gordon comeback were quickly put to rest early in quarter #2. Alliance ran off the period’s first 17 points to increase their margin. The stanza began with 2 free throws by Boyer and 5 points by Lanik, including his fourth three pointer. An old fashioned three point play by Boyer pushed Alliance’s lead to 38 to 12. The spree came to a close with the Bulldogs getting points by Lanik, Lexton Salcido, and Devin Graham. With 4 minutes remaining in the half, the Gordon deficit stood at 33, 45 to 12. The hosts played the Dogs even in the final stages with the teams trading points. After a Mustang two pointer, five more Zurn points and another goal by Graham kept the visitors comfortably in the lead. The half ended with 3 straight by the Mustangs and AHS leading 52 to 19.
Eighteen third period points by the Dogs helped Alliance keep their advantage. The quarter got under way with another trey by Lanik and a two pointer by Meyring. Down by 57 to 19, Gordon would score, but another hoop by Meyring and a Boyer bucket pushed the Dog lead to 40 at 61 to 21. The teams then swapped threes with Zurn nailing a 3 ball for Alliance’s next points. At the 4 minute mark, the Bulldogs got tallies from Boyer and Zurn to go up by 42. The 40 point rule made for only a few possessions toward the close of the third. A Boyer hoop ended the period with AHS up 70 to 30.
Defense was still stout for the Dogs in the finale. Gordon would score only one point in the final 8 minutes of play. The Alliance offense tallied just 9 points with a clock still running. Baskets by Zurn, Graham, and Jaden Guerra plus 2 free throws by Alliance’s Riley Best made the final score Alliance 79 Gordon/Rushville 30.
ALL 28 24 18 9 79
GR 12 7 11 1 31
Scoring for the Bulldogs Lanik 23 Zurn 17 Meyring 15 Boyer 11
Graham 6 Salcido 3 Best 2 Guerra 2
Alliance will definitely have their hands full in the next contest. On Friday, the Dogs traveled to Ogallala with a game with the Indians.