Scottsbluff won first place at the end of the season JV tournament in boy’s basketball. On Thursday, the Cats defeated Alliance 82 to 60 in placing first. The contest was played in Alliance. AHS advanced to the finals with a win over Mitchell on Tuesday but ran into a strong squad from the Bluffs in the championship game. SB put 27 points on the board in the first quarter and led throughout. Drayden Konopnicki led the Dogs with 14 points while adding 10 was Tripp Johnson.
Four tallies by Johnson is how the battle began. All Bluffs after that. A 15 to 5 spurt by the guests gave Scottsbluff a 6 point lead. During the run, Alliance got a 2 from Cisco Cody and a 3 from Israel Garcia. AHS would then get free throws by Xander Narjes and Casyn Rodriguez to stay in the contest . But the points by the Bearcats kept coming as a pair of threes by the Bluffs extended their margin. The period closed with the Bulldogs getting points by Grayson Dibrito, Rodriguez, and Mason Winter. After one period, Alliance trailed 27 to 17.
Midway thru the second, a 15 to 0 spree by the Cats was too much to overcome. Alliance got early second quarter tallies from Rodriguez and Konopnicki to close to within 9 but the huge spree by the guests made the score SB 46 All 22 with under 4 minutes remaining in the half. Dibrito ended the spurt with a 3. The half came to a finish with the Dogs getting a pair of treys from Xavier Rodriguez. Bluffs led 52 to 31 at halftime.
Play was tight in the third. Early points by Johnson, Cody, and Konopnicki gave the hosts hope. Points at the midway mark by Garcia and Narjes helped AHS pull to within 17. Unfortunately, the quarter concluded with 7 consecutive points by the visitors. The Cats took a 69 to 45 lead after 3 periods of play.
Three hoops in the fourth by Konopnicki led the O for the Dogs.
AHS also baskets by Cody, Dibrito, and Narjes in the last quarter. A 3 by Johnson started the scoring for the Bulldogs.
Final Bearcats 82 Dogs 60
SB 27 25 17 13 82
ALL 17 14 14 15 60
Scoring for Alliance Konopnicki 14 Cody 6 Johnson 10 Xavier Rodriguez 6 Garcia 5 Dibrito 6 Narjes 4 Winter 2 Casyn Rodriguez 7.