The 2024 basketball season started for the Alliance St. Agnes boy’s team with a road trip to Hyannis on Tuesday. The Crusaders took both contests from the Longhorns with the varsity downing the hosts 33 to 25 and also winning the JV battle 33 to 19. Both squads began the year with a 1 and 0 record.
St. Agnes jumped on the Horns in the first period, outscoring Hyannis 14 to 4. Six Crusaders tallied points in the opening six minutes with eighth grader Jay Shelmadine and seventh grade Tripp Johnson leading the offense with three points each. Adding 2 scores each in the quarter were Grayson Dibrito, Caysen Robertson, Jackson Devlin, and Trey Carter. After one period of play, SA lead 14 to 4. Another bucket by Shelmadine and 2 free throws by Alliance’s Cisco Cody would account for the Crusader points in the second. Going to half, the Crusaders were up 18 to 10.
In the third, Hyannis would get the better of the Crusaders. The Longhorns put 7 points on the scoreboard while SA was held to 5. A three by Shelmadine and a two pointer by Robertson helped the Crusaders maintain their lead. Heading to the fourth the Crusaders were still on top 23 to 17. Free throws by Alliance were key in the fourth. Shelmadine nailed four from the line while Devlin and Johnson added one apiece. Two point baskets by Cody and Devlin sealed the deal down the stretch. Final St. Agnes 33 Hyannis 25
SA 14 4 5 10 33
HY 4 6 7 8 25
Seven Crusaders got into the scorebook led by Shelmadine with 12 and Devlin with 5. Scoring 4 each were Johnson, Cody, and Robertson. Rounding out the scoring with 2 apiece were Dibrito and Carter.
The second game of the day was the JV contest. It was very similar to the varsity game with SA grabbing an early lead and controlling the action. Early scores from Danny Jelinek and Dixon Bair helped the Crusaders take the early first period lead. The pair scored 4 points apiece in the opener as the Crusaders lead 8 to 6 after the first six minutes of play. St. Agnes would then outscored the Horns again in the second. Alliance held the hosts to just 2 points in period #2 while scoring 9 points themselves. Four points by Alliance’s Phoenix Red Nest topped the scoring while Bair and Jelinek muster 2 points each. A free throw by Jett Childers rounded out the scoring for the Crusaders. At half, SA led 17 to 8.
St. Agnes was again strong on the defensive side in the third. The Longhorns could only muster 3 points in the quarter. Meanwhile got points in the period from Tatum Devlin and Bair to keep their margin. Heading to the fourth, Alliance led 26 to 11. A three from Dibrito and another two pointer in the final stanza by Red Nest secured the lead for the Crusaders. Another basket by Dibrito finished the scoring and Alliance cruised to the win 33 to 19.
SA 8 9 9 7 33
HY 6 2 3 8 19
Thirteen points by Bair led the offense for Alliance followed by six each by Red Nest and Jelinek. Scoring 5 was Dibrito while Tatum Devlin ended with 2 and Childers with one.