Long time enemies Alliance and Chadron met in Alliance on Friday in a boy’s basketball thriller. The guests were looking to avenged an earlier loss to the Dogs and got it with a come from behind win 54 to 50. With the defeat, Alliance now has a 6 and 7 record for the season. The Cardinals outscored the hosts 21 to 6 in the fourth in getting the victory. AHS got the W in the JV contest played earlier. The Bulldogs downed the Cards 81 to 34. Leading the offense for the varsity squad was Espen Lanik who tallied 15 points while Devin Graham scored 10. A pair of threes by the visitors in final moments plus a couple of turnovers by AHS led to the win for the Cardinals.
Both clubs would enjoy a lead in the first. A score by Lanik was followed by a three by the Cards. Bulldog sophomore Jaden Guerra helped the hosts retake the lead after a three point play but back came the visitors. Back to back buckets by Chadron gave the Cardinals a 2 point lead at 7 to 5. Graham answered with a hoop for the Dogs that knotted the game at 7 with 4 minutes left in the quarter. After a deuce by the guests, a three by Graham put AHS up 1. The period closed with a Cardinal 2, a free throw by Guerra, and a hoop by Alliance’s Riley Best. Heading to the second, Alliance was on top 13 to 11.
Alliance would increase its cushion in the second, outscoring the Cards 14 to 7. It began with a trey by Bulldog Lexton Salcido and 2 free throws by Guerra. Next was a hoop by the Cardinals but a three by Lanik and and a 2 by Salcido made the board read Alliance 23 Chadron 13 with under 4 minutes remaining in the quarter. A score by the guests stopped the mini run but back to back buckets by Trevor Zurn and Graham made the game a 27 to 15 affair. Quarter #2 closed with a Card three and Alliance leading by 9 at 27 to 18.
Six early Alliance tallies is how the third started. A trey by Graham along with three free throws by Zurn put the Card deficit at 15. The next few minutes had both squads getting into the scoring column. AHS would get four points by Braeden Clarke and five from Lanik in remaining in the lead. A bucket by Lanik with under four minutes in the quarter helped the Dogs take a big advantage at 44 to 26. This is where the Cardinal comeback went into effect. Chadron ended the period with 7 in a row and the quarter closed with Alliance ahead by 11 at 44 to 33.
Momentum stay with the guests at the start of the fourth. A Card two was followed by another 3 ball that pulled the visitors to within 6. AHS responded with a 3 pointer by Lanik but 6 straight tallies by Chadron sliced their deficit to 3. Three Guerra free throws along with another trey by the Cardinal made the board read Alliance 50 Chadron 47 with under a minute remaining. Down the stretch, it was the guests making all the plays. The game was then tied at 50 after another 3 pointer by the Cardinals. A turnover by the Dogs led to a Cardinal lay up which put the visitors up by 2 with 12 seconds on the clock. Alliance had one more chance but another TO led to a Cardinal basket at the buzzer.
Final Chadron 54 Alliance 50
CHAD 11 7 15 21 54
ALL 13 14 17 6 50
Scoring for AHS Lanik 15 Clarke 4 Graham 10 Guerra 9 Salcido 5 Zurn 5 Best 2
On Tuesday, Alliance plays host to Gordon/Rushville