A slow start offensively put the Alliance boy’s basketball team in a big hole that the Bulldogs could not recover from in their game played Saturday in McCook. The Dogs could muster just 2 made baskets in the first half and fell to the Bison 73 to 48. With the loss, AHS now has an 11 and 9 record for the season. Alliance would score just 3 points in the second as the hosts built a big halftime lead. Senior Payton Boyer led the Bulldog in scoring with 18 points while Espen Lanik tossed in 13. Alliance did get the win in the junior varsity contest, besting the Bison 59 to 53 in a game played earlier in the day.
A big spree by the Bison is how the game started. McCook scored first but a free throw by Bulldog Seth Meyring made the score 2 to 1 in favor of the hosts. After that, it was all McCook. The Bison went on a 12 to 0 run to increase their margin to 14 to 1 at the midway stage of the first. Two free throws by Alliance freshman Jaden Guerra ended the spree, but a Bison triple and a free throw by McCook made the Alliance deficit stand at 18 to 3. In the closing seconds of the first, points by Boyer and Guerra kept the Alliance comeback in tack. The quarter came to a conclusion with a hoop by the Bison and a free throw by Lanik. With one period in the books, Alliance trailed 24 to 8. The pace of the contest slowed in the second. McCook would score 13 points in the quarter while holding the guests to just 3. A free throw by Bulldog Trevor Zurn began the scoring but the hosts countered with back to back goals to go up 28 to 9. Alliance’s lone bucket of the quarter came from Guerra at the 4 minute mark that put the Bison lead at 28 to 11. McCook then swished back to back three pointers to surge ahead by 23. An old fashioned three point play by the hosts closed out the scoring in the half with the board reading McCook 37 Alliance 11.
Thirteen third period points by Boyer helped the Dogs stay in the game. The quarter started with the teams trading hoops with Boyer accounting for the Alliance points. A Bison mini run of 7 to 2 increased the McCook margin later in the third. Lanik tallied 2 free throws for the Dogs during the spree. At the 6 minute mark, Alliance got a Boyer free throw and a 2 from Zurn to make the score read McCook 46 Alliance 18. The momentum then went to the side of the visitors. Points by Boyer and Lanik helped AHS close their gap to 50 to 28 with 3 minutes remaining in period #3. But the hosts answered right back a 7 to 3 run to boast their lead to 57 to 31 heading to the fourth. A Boyer three was lone bright spot for Alliance.
Five Bulldogs would get into the scoring column in the fourth, led by 7 points by Lanik. Overall, AHS outscored the MCHS 17 to 16 in final period. Seven early tallies by Lanik kept things interesting for the Dogs. A triple by the Bulldog lefty was followed by a 3 pointer by Zurn, and a basket by Boyer as AHS got within 21 at 64 to 43. Both squads would then put tallies on the board in the final minutes of the contest. The Dogs got a trey by Lexton Salcido and a 2 pointer by Meyring as their final tallies. Final McCook 73 Alliance 48
ALL 8 3 20 17 48
MC 24 13 20 16 73
Scoring for Alliance Boyer 18 Lanik 13 Zurn 6 Guerra 5 Meyring 3 Salcido 3
Alliance will host Hyannis on Thursday and Lexington on Saturday.