A busy three day stretch for the Alliance boy’s basketball club came to a close with a game in Lexington on Saturday . AHS posted a 48 to 46 win over the hosts to finish the weekend 2 and 1. A Lex tying 3 pointer at the buzzer was no good as the Dogs hung on for the W. Two Bulldogs-Juniors Devin Graham and Riley Best-scored in double digits, leading the Alliance offense. Graham had 14 points while Best scored 12. With the win, AHS now had an 11 and 12 record on the year. The Bulldogs downed Hyannis on Thursday and lost to Mount Michael on Friday before getting the win on Saturday. Alliance led by 10 at halftime but a 20 point Minutemen effort in the third gave the hosts a one point led heading into the fourth. Down the stretch, AHS got four tallies apiece by Graham and Best in garnering the victory.
Graham led the Bulldogs in the opener with 10 first quarter points. The battle was tied at 2 early with the Dogs getting a 2 from Best. Using a pair of threes and 2 twos by Graham, Alliance surged ahead 12 to 7 at the midway stage. The teams then traded treys with Alliance getting a three by Lexton Salcido. After one period of play, the guests were up 15 to 10.
Eight second quarter points by Trevor Zurn helped Alliance maintain their margin. Overall, the Dogs outscored the Minutemen 13 to 8 in the stanza in extending their advantage. An early 7 to 2 spurt by the Dogs put the Lex deficit at 10. Alliance got threes from Salcido and Zurn plus a free throw by Creighton Fritzler to go ahead 22 to 12. The hosts came down strong, outscoring the Dogs 6 to 2 at the 3 minute mark. Zurn stopped the spree with a 2 and a three. The half finished with a Best free throw and the Bulldogs leading 28 to 18.
Success from behind the three point arc aided a Lex comeback. The hosts made 3 three in a row to take the lead later in the period. Alliance got early buckets by Nason Thompson and Best in keeping the lead. A three by Best made it 35 to 26 at the 4 minute mark. Monument then went to the hosts as Lex scored 12 consecutive tallies to go up by three. The Minutemen had a free throw, a 2 pointer, and 3 treys to take the lead at 38 to 35 with a minute left in the period. Two Fritzler free throws ended the third quarter scoring with the Bulldogs down by 1 at 38 to 37.
Four straight tallies by the hosts in the early moments of the fourth put the Dog deficit at 5. A Zurn free throws was followed by back to back hoops by Graham that knotted the contest at 42. The momentum would stay with the guests later in the period as AHS got 2 free throws by Devonte Taylor and a deuce by Best which gave the visitors a 4 point lead with 2 minutes left. Lex answered back with a three and with less than a minute remaining, the Alliance margin was one. The Dogs then got the ball to Best who scored with 30 seconds showing on the clock. With fouls to give, the Dogs fouled the hosts to run time off the clock. A Lex three for the tie was no good as Alliance went on for the 48 to 45 victory.
All 15 13 9 11 48
Lex 10 8 20 7 45
Scoring for Alliance Graham 14 Best 12 Thompson 2 Fritzler 3 Taylor 2 Zurn 9 Salcido 6
The end of the regular season is Friday with a home game vs Sidney.