Paced by 6 three pointers by junior Espen Lanik, the Alliance boy’s basketball defeated Chadron 57 to 44 in a battle played Friday night in Alliance. The Bulldogs used 13 points by Lanik in the second period to establish a big lead and cruise to the win, With the victory, Alliance improves to 5 and 2 on the year. The Dogs were especially sharp in period #2, outscoring the Cards 21 to 10. Late free throws by Devin Graham and Kegan Nelson helped the Bulldog Junior Varsity team down Chadron 58 to 54 in a game played at the Alliance Middle School earlier in the night.
Early play saw the guests take a brief lead. The game started with a trey by the Cards as Chadron surged ahead. AHS answered with a Braeden Clark hoop, but another Chadron hoop made the score 5 to 2 in favor of the guests. At the 5 minute mark, Bulldog junior Lexton Salcido scored 5 in a row that put the Dogs up 7 to 5. Four straight by the visitors followed as Chadron grabbed a 9 to 7 lead. Another bucket by Salcido knotted the game at 9 and a tally by Bulldog Seth Meyring gave AHS a 11 to 9 lead at the 1 minute mark. The 8 minute stanza closed with a Card score and a three pointer by Lanik. After one quarter of action, Alliance led 14 to 11. It was all Lanik in the second. The Bulldog lefty hit back to back treys that increased the Chadron deficit to 20 to 11. Seven more Lanik points midway through the quarter kept the guests down. At the 4 minute point, a three by Lanik gave Alliance a lead at 27 to 15.
Towards the conclusion of the quarter, the Bulldogs would get points by Trevor Zurn, 6, and Salcido to maintain their lead. Alliance led 35 to 21 as the teams went to half, five straight Cardinal points is how the third began as the guests drew closer. A hoop by Zurn and a 2 pointer by Meyring at the 4 minute mark kept the Dogs up. Another goal by Meyring made the score 41 to 26 in favor of Alliance with under 2 minutes left in period #3.
The Cards scored right before the end of the quarter but a buzzer beating three by Salcido gave the hosts a 44 to 29 lead heading to the fourth. In the final 8 minutes of action, the teams traded three pointers with Lanik nailing a trey for the Dogs. A big hoop by freshman Jaden Guerra at the 5 minute mark kept the Bulldogs out in front 49 to 32. Down the stretch, another 3 ball by Lanik gave the Dogs a 20 point lead at 52 to 32. Meyring added a free throw and another score by Guerra helped the Dogs stay in front by 19 at 55 to 36. The game came to an end with a 2 pointer by Clarke and 8 points by the Cards. Final Alliance 57 Chadron 44
CHAD 11 10 8 15 44
ALL 14 21 9 13 57
Scoring Lanik 22 Salcido 12 Zurn 8 Meyring 7 Clarke 4 Guerra 4
Alliance traveled to Broken Bow on December 27-28 for a holiday tournament for their next games.