Hastings Adams Central downed Alliance 61 to 36 on Wednesday in boy’s basketball action. Using a big run in the first period, the Patriots claimed first at the Boone Central tourney which was played in Albion. Alliance now has a 5 and 4 record on the season. Two Dogs-Espen Lanik and Braeden Clarke led the Alliance offense with 11 points each. Adams Central ran off 18 straight points in the first period and led throughout. The highlight for the contest for Alliance came in the fourth quarter when Lanik scored his 1000th career point on a free throw. The Dogs were behind by 18 at halftime as a strong zone defense by AC gave AHS fits. Others teams participating in the 2 day event were the hosts Boone Central and Broken Bow.
Cold shooting plagued the Bulldogs from the tip. A three by Lanik gave Alliance an early lead but AHS would fail to score until late in the opener. Meanwhile, the Patriots went to work on offense. AC used 6 two pointers and a pair of threes to surge ahead 18 to 3 with under a minute remaining in the quarter. Two free throws by Clarke ended the drought but the period closed with another deuce by the Patriots. After one period of play, the Bulldogs were down by 15 at 20 to 5.
Four Lanik tallies in the second gave Alliance a chance. The quarter began with 3 in a row by the school from Hastings as Alliance saw their deficit grow to 18. Lanik answered back with a three and a free throw that got the Dogs to within 14 at the 5 minute mark. The clubs then swapped scores with Alliance getting tallies from Creighton Fritzler and Devin Graham. Unfortunately for the Dogs, the second came to a conclusion with 4 straight points by the Patriots. Halftime score Adams Central 31. Alliance 13
Alliance would outscore Hastings in the third but just by 1. AHS put 16 in the column while the Patriots tallied 15. A three by Graham and 2 Lanik free throws began the scoring for Alliance. After a three point play by AC, another three pointer by Graham pulled the Bulldogs to within 15. Clarke then came alive for Alliance later in the period as the Junior scored 6 straight points to make it a 41 to 27 contest. The quarter finished with 5 in a row by the Patriots and a bucket by Bulldog Jaden Guerra. Heading to the fourth, Hastings was ahead 46 to 29.
An Alliance comeback began with 2 Lanik free throws which gave the senior his 1000 and 1001 career points. Up by 15, Adams extended its cushion by scoring the game’s next 7 points to go ahead 53 to 31. A trey by Clarke ensued but 7 consecutive tallies by the Patriots gave AC a lead at 60 to 34 with under 3 minutes to play. Alliance’s Riley Best ended the Dog scoring with a 2 pointer. Final Adams Central 61 Alliance 36
All 5 8 16 7 36
AC 20 11 15 15 61
Scoring for Alliance Lanik 11 Clarke 11 Fritzler 2 Graham 8 Best 2 Guerra 2.
A game at Pine Bluffs on Saturday will be the Dogs next contest.