Saturday’s boy’s game between Alliance and Bridgeport had a state playoff feeling with 2 excellent teams going after it. The contest was a hotly contested matchup that featured strong defenses, few turnovers, and clutch baskets. And when the smoke cleared, it was Alliance coming out on top. The hometown Dogs defeated the visiting Dogs 58 to 56 in a thriller played in Alliance. A three pointer with under 7 seconds left by Alliance’s Payton Boyer proved to be the difference. Down by 1, AHS milked the clock down to under 10 seconds then got the ball to the Bulldog senior guard who drained the trey to put the hosts ahead by 2. Bridgeport had a shot for the win at the buzzer but the attempt was no good. Junior Espen Lanik paced the Alliance offense with 23 points while senior Seth Meyring added 16 as the Dogs improved their record to 9 and 3 for the year. Alliance also got the W in the junior varsity battle, defeating B Port 61 to 51.
A late run in the closing minutes of the first period helped Alliance establish an early margin. Lanik began his big night with a free throw, but back to back buckets by Bridgeport gave the guests a 4 to 1 lead at the 6 minute stage. AHS came back with 4 points in a row thanks to goals by Trevor Zurn and Meyring. With 4 minutes in the first, a BP bucket gave the visitors a brief lead at 6 to 5. Two more free throws by Lanik ensued as Alliance went ahead, but another BP tally made the score 8 to 7 in favor of the guests. Toward the end of the quarter, the momentum went to the hometown Bulldogs. Alliance went on an 11 to 2 run to surge ahead by 8. The spree started with a Boyer bucket. It was followed by a Lanik three and a free throw by Zurn. Down 13 to 8, BP scored, but 5 Lanik points made the score 18 to 10 after one quarter of play.
In the second, Bridgeport scored first on a three ball. Meyring responded with his second basket that kept AHS out in front by 7. Another trey by the guests made the scoreboard read 20 to 16 with six minutes remaining in the half. Alliance’s next three points came from the free throw line with Boyer sinking 2 and Zurn adding one. Down 7 at 23 to 16, four consecutive points by the visiting Bulldogs sliced their deficit to 3 before another three by Lanik pushed the Alliance lead to 6. The final moments of the first half had BP making a move. It started with a trey and 2 pointer that pulled the visitors to within 1 26 to 25. Freshman Jaden Guerra then came off the Alliance bench to tally the Bulldogs’ last 4 points on 2 hoops. B Port countered with 3 points and the teams went to halftime with Alliance in front 30 to 28.
Both teams would tally 17 points each in the third with Alliance maintaining their advantage throughout. Lanik continued his hot shooting with an early score, but a Bridgeport three kept the guests close. With the game knotted at 32, six straight Alliance points gave the hosts a 6 point lead. Scoring for the Dogs were: Boyer, Lanik and Meyring. BP came right back at the 4 minute mark with 2 straight hoops that cut the Bulldog lead to 2 at 38 to 36. A seven to two spree by the hosts gave AHS a little breathing room at 45 to 38. Lanik began the run with a 2 pointer and 5 Meyring points gave Alliance a 7 point advantage with under two minutes left in the period. The guests would not get away as BP scored the game’s next 7 tallies that tied the game at 45. Meyring stopped the run with a hoop and the contest went to the finale with AHS up 47 to 45.
Defenses were locked in for the final 8 minutes with both squads only able to muster 11 points apiece. The quarter began with a two pointer by BP that tied the game at 47. Meyring then scored for the hosts but a Bridgeport goal made the contest even at 49. Momentum then swung to the side of Alliance. The hometown Bulldogs scored the battle’s next 6 points thanks to points by Meyring, Lanik and Lexton Salcido. The big shot was a three by Lanik as AHS surged ahead 55 to 49 with under 3 minutes left to play. A trey by BP was the next points in the scorebook and it was followed by 2 Bulldog free throws and a bucket by the guests that put Bridgeport out in front 56 to 55 with one minute left on the clock. An Alliance turnover gave the ball back to the guests but a missed shot by the visitors set up AHS’s last possession. With the clock ticking down, Alliance got the ball to Meyring who was doubled teamed and kicked the ball out to Boyer on the left wing. The point guard was money for a three that put the hosts ahead 58 to 56 with 4 seconds left. B Port would call a timeout and set up a final shot which was no good. Final Alliance 58 Bridgeport 56
BP 10 18 17 11 56
ALL 18 12 17 11 58
Scoring Lanik 23 Meyring 16 Boyer 9 Zurn 4 Guerra 4 Salcido 2
At Friday, Alliance goes to Chadron for a battle with the Cardinals.