A very successful season came to a close for the Alliance St. Agnes boy’s basketball team with a pair of games at the Scottsbluff tournament held last week. The Crusaders downed Chadron in the opening game before falling to Scottsbluff in semi final action. St. Agnes concluded their year with a solid 11 and 3 record. The losses were to Alliance Middle School and twice to Scottsbluff. AMS won the tournament with victories over Torrington, Gering, and a thrilling win over the Bluffs. For the first time in over ten years, SA competed in the 8th A division of the tourney and played two very competitive contests.
Things didn’t start off very well for the Crusaders in the opener against Chadron. The Cardinals came out red hot and built a double digit lead versus the Crusaders in the first minutes of play. St. Agnes would get 4 first quarter points from Tanner Salcido and a pair of free throws by Tripp Johnson to counter the early Card attack. After one period of play the Cardinals were out in front 14 to 6. St. Agnes grabbed the momentum of the game in the second by shutting out Chadron and scoring 10 points to take the lead at half. Triples by Jay Shelmadine and Dixon Bair helped SA surge ahead. Two point buckets by Caysen Robertson and Bair made the score St. Agnes 16 Chadron 14 heading to half.
The Crusaders were again the aggressor in third, winning the quarter 11 to 7. Scoring in the period were 2 baskets each by Salcido and Jackson Devlin along with a three pointer by Johnson that kept Alliance still in the lead. Heading to period #4 SA held a 27 to 21 lead. Four Crusaders got into the scoring column in the final 6 minutes of play. Two point goals by Salcido, Robertson, and Shelmadine plus a free throw by Cisco Cody and another three by Johnson was enough to stop a Cardinal comeback. St. Agnes would score 10 points in final quarter of action compared to just 4 by the Cardinals. Final SA 37 Chadron 25
CHAD 14 0 7 4 25
SA 6 10 11 10 37
Salcido led a balanced St. Agnes offense with 10 points, followed by 8 by Johnson. Adding 5 apiece were Shelmadine and Bair while scoring 4 each were Robertson and Devlin. Ending with 1 point was Cody.
On Tuesday St. Agnes played Scottsbluff in semi final action. Alliance went cold in the third quarter and fell at the hands on the Bearcats 29 to 17. Play was tight at the start. St. Agnes put 7 on the scoreboard in the opening period and led by 1. Four points by Salcido and 3 by Robertson helped the Crusaders grab the early margin. The Bluffs responded in the second by outscoring Alliance 12 to 5. A three by Shelmadine and 2 pointer by Devlin would account for the lone scores by SA. At half St. Agnes was down 18 to 12.
An Alliance comeback was denied in the third as the Crusaders were held scoreless. The Bluffs would score 6 in the quarter and lead 24 to 12 heading to the final period. Both teams would tally 5 points in the final 6 minutes of action. Three free throws by Robertson and two by Johnson were not enough. Final Bearcats 29 Crusaders 17
SB 6 12 6 5 29
SA 7 5 0 5 17
Six points by Robertson led Alliance in scoring while Salcido closed with 4 points. Shelmadine was good for 3 while adding 2 each were Devlin and Johnson.