Highly entertaining best described Tuesday’s boys basketball game between Alliance and Broken Bow. Bulldog Braeden Clarke and Espen Lanik combined for 47 points to lead Alliance past Bow 78 to 72. With the victory, AHS goes to 5 and 3 on the year. Clarke finished with 27 points while Lanik added 20 in opening round action of the Boone Central holiday tournament. The contest was played in Albion. In other action, it was Adams Central downing Albion to advance to Wednesday’s championship match up with Alliance. The Dogs netted 17 tallies in the fourth period, 11 coming from the free throw to deny an Indian rally. Clarke was clutch down the stretch. The Bulldog junior hit 7 from the charity stripe. Alliance also got a nice boast from their bench. Reserves Trevor Zurn, Jaxon Poss, and Nason Thompson combined for 15 points in getting the win.
No lead was safe in the opening eight minutes. Early tallies by Lanik and Jaden Guerra gave the Dogs an early 7 to 2 advantage. Bow responded then with 7 straight to surge ahead by 2. A three by Bulldog Devin Graham stopped the run. It was followed by a Lanik trey as Alliance retook the lead at 13 to 9. After a three pointer by the Indians, the Bulldogs ran off 6 in a row thanks to points by Clarke and Guerra. Back came Broken Bow. An 8 to 1 spurt by the Indians tied the game at 20 in the final moments of the period. Quarter #1 closed with two Lanik free throws and Alliance up 22 to 20.
Action again was tight in the second with Alliance scoring 15 and Broken Bow tallying 14. The Indians took an early lead with a deuce and a three while a hoop by Clarke kept the Dogs close. Another free throw by Lanik and a 2 from Clarke would knot the score at 27 later in the quarter. Buckets by Graham and Lanik ensued as the contest again was tied. One last push by the Bulldogs in the late moments of the half gave Alliance a three point lead at halftime. Baskets by Clarke, Lanik, and Poss made the scoreboard read 37 to 34 at half.
Points were plentiful again in the third. Alliance outscored Bow 24 to 23 in the period to extend their margin to 4. Early tallies by Creighton Fritzler, Poss, and Clarke kept the Dogs out in front. An old fashion three point play by Clarke gave Alliance a 6 point lead at the 5 minute mark. Lanik followed with a deuce, making it a 47 to 39 ball game. The Indians answered with 7 to 2 run pull within 3. Clarke had another hoop for Alliance during the spree. The play of the game then came from Lanik on an inbounds play where the lefty scored a lay up bouncing the ball off the back of his defender. The furious period closed with the Bulldogs getting point by Thompson and threes by Zurn and Clarke. With three quarters in the book, Alliance led 61 to 57.
Two big scores by Guerra and free throws by Zurn and Clarke is how the fourth began. Down 8, the Indians got a four point play to slice their deficit to 4 at 67 to 63. Free throws by Zurn and Fritzler then kept the Dog lead safe. At the 4 minute mark, the Alliance margin went to 5 following a bucket by Thompson. Back came Bow as three free throws by the Indians make it a 2 point contest with less than two minutes left. The Indians were forced to foul and 5 Clarke free throws put the Alliance lead at 7 at 77 to 70. Bow had one more bucket to get within 5 but a free throw by Lanik put the game away . Final. Bulldogs 78 Indians 72
All 22 15 24 17 78
BB 20 14 23 15 72
Scoring for Alliance Lanik 20 Clarke 27 Fritzler 2 Guerra 9 Graham 5 Zurn 7 Poss 4 Thompson 4.
Alliance will play Adams Central on Wednesday for the championship.