Hemingford is hosting this years junior high boy’s Pan Handle basketball tournament. In the first round, St. Agnes bested Morrill 46 to 11 to advance to semi final action. The Crusaders raced to a 14 to 0 lead after the first, then added 14 more in the second in getting the victory. Nine Crusaders got into the scorebook, led by a 10 point effort by Declan Kirchner with Chief Cody tossing in 8. With the win, the Academy goes to 4 and 4 for the year. Nine teams are competing in the one day tourney.
St. Agnes was strong on both sides in the first. SA shutout the Lions 14 to 0 and were on their way. Four tallies by Alliance’s Emerson Trumble led the Academy in scoring in period #1. Two Trumble hoops along with a deuce by Mason Conyers gave the Crusaders as early 6 to 0 lead. At the midway point, the Academy increased its margin thanks to buckets by Tee Johnson, Cody, and Kirchner. The quarter closed with a 2 by Crusader Liam Pena. After one period of play, the Academy was ahead 14 to 0.
Six Crusaders scored in the second as the Academy extended its advantage. Early hoops by Cody, Tatum Devlin, and Trumble pushed the Alliance cushion to 20. Back to back buckets by Cody and Pena then ensued. At the 2:20 mark, the Lions would get on the board. Quarter 2 finished with baskets by the Academy by Jackson Chasek and Kirchner and a free throw from Morrill. Alliance was up 28 to 3 at halftime.
Alliance again shut out the Lions in the third while scoring 12 to go ahead by 37. St. Agnes got three pointer by Johnson and Kirchner along with 2 pointers by Conyers and Cody. Tristin Hansen sank 2 free throws also in the period. With 3 quarters in the book, the Academy had 40 to 3 lead. Eight straight tallies by the Lions is how the fourth started. Alliance came back with 6 in a row to end the contest. St. Agnes got a Hansen free throw, a 2 from Pena, and a three by Kirchner to end the game.
Final St. Agnes 46 Morrill 11
MOR 0 3 0 8 11
SA 14 14 12 6 46
Scoring for the Academy Trumble 6 Conyers 4 Cody 8 Johnson 5 Devlin 2 Pena 6 Hansen 3 Kirchner 10 Chasek 2
Alliance advances and will play the winner of the Crawford/Cody contest later in the afternoon.