A combination of balanced scoring and a stingy defense were the keys for the Alliance Middle School 8th squad on Saturday in their contest against St. Agnes. AMS downed the Crusaders 36 to 10 in getting their first win on the year. The Dogs held the Academy to just 2 points in the second half and cruised to the victory. On offense, AMS got 9 points each from Mykey Valdovinos and Aschen Fries to lead their attack.
Dixon Bair added 8. Top scorers for the Academy were Chief Cody and Tee Johnson who netted 4 apiece. With the loss, the Academy falls to 1 and 2 for the season. A reserve game was played later in the day with SA getting a W 16 to 9 in a 2 quarter affair. For the Crusaders it was Declan Kirchner who led the offense with 6 points while AMS got 5 tallies from Carson Stroud. The contests were played at the Holy Rosary Parish Center in front of a large crowd.
In the opening varsity game, both clubs struggled offensively in the first. AMS got first period hoops by Fries and Valdovinos while Cody had a deuce for the Academy. St. Agnes trailed 4 to 2 after one period of play. Thirteen second quarter tallies by the Bulldogs gave AMS a comfortable lead. Action began in the second with a Bair bucket that made it 6 to 2. St. Agnes responded with 4 in a row on hoops by Johnson and Emerson Trumble that tied the game at 6.
Five Valdovinos tallies ensued as the Dogs surged ahead. With under 2 minutes left in the half, the teams traded blows with AMS getting 2 from Fries and SA getting another Cody basket. The half closed with scores by Bair and Zach Dubray and the Dogs ahead 17 to 8.
A ten to zero scoring spree in the third by AMS put the contest away. The Dogs got six 3rd period points by Jace Jensen to extend their advantage. Also getting into the scoring column in the third were Bair and Fries. Meanwhile, the Academy went cold from the field and failed to score. AMS led 27 to 8 after three quarters of action.
In quarter #4, the Dogs got tallies from Bair, Valdovinos, Fries, and Travis Kaiser Pfanenstiel in ending the game. St. Agnes got a pair of free throws from Johnson for their lone points.
Final AMS 36 SA 10
AMS 4 13 10 9 36
SA 2 6 0 2 10
Scoring for AMS Valdovinos 9 Fries 9 Bair 8 Jensen 6 Dubray 2 Kaiser Pfanenstiel 2
Scoring for SA Cody 4 Johnson 4 Trumble 2
Fourteen points in the first by the Academy in the B game led the Crusaders to the win. St. Agnes jumped to a 14 to 0 lead and won the match up 16 to 9. Kirchner had 6 tallies in the first while adding 2 each were: James Benzel, Jaden Acosta-Estevane, Max Bailey, and Gavin Mahoney. In the second, SA got a deuce from Jackson Chasek while scoring for the Dogs were Grant Bloyd, Atreus Walker, and Stroud.
Final SA 16 AMS 9
AMS 0 9 9
SA 14 2 16
Scoring for AMS Bloyd 2 Walker 2 Stroud 5
Scoring for SA Kirchner 6 Acosta-Estevane 2 Benzel 2 Chasek 2 Bailey 2 Mahoney 2
St. Agnes hosts Chadron on Thursday while AMS hosts Gering on Saturday.