Eleven consecutive points to start the third period carried Gering past the Alliance boys basketball team 63 to 49 in game played Saturday in Scottsbluff. The Bulldogs led by 1 at halftime but a quick spurt by Gering was too much to overcome. With the win, Gering took home third place honors in the 3 day Western Conference tournament which was played in Scottsbluff and Gering. Alliance now sees their record drop to 11 and 7 on the year. The Dogs downed Mitchell in the opening round before falling to Sidney and Gering to end the tourney. Leading the AHS offense was junior Espen Lanik who netted 19 points. The game was played at Cougar Palace in Scottsbluff.
Three pointers by both sides started the game. A 3 pointer by Alliance’s Lexton Salcido gave the Dogs an early 3 to 0 lead. Gering fought back with back to back treys to surge ahead by 3 but a 3 ball by Lanik later in the quarter knotted the game at 6. The teams then swapped threes with Lanik connecting on his second trey. Later in the first with Gering leading by 2, another 3 by Lanik gave the Dogs a 12 to 11 advantage. Period #1 closed with a 2 pointer by Gering and another Alliance three. The trey by Trevor Zurn finished the period with the A Dogs up 15 to 14.
Both teams would tally 13 points in the second. Gering scored first but a hoop by Alliance’s Seth Meyring gave the Dogs a 1 point lead. After a goal by Gering, AHS took a 3 point margin on baskets by Payton Boyer and Creighton Fritzler. Four points by Alliance freshman Jaden Guerra ensued as the Dogs went up 5 at the 4 minute stage. Another 3 by Gering was next but free throws by Boyer and Braeden Clarke kept the Alliance lead at 5 at 28 to 23. The half came to a conclusion with 4 tallies in a row by Gering and AHS leading 28 to 27.
Gering kept the momentum of their side in the early minutes of the third. The G Dogs quickly erased a 1 point deficit by scoring the game’s first 11 points to surge ahead 38 to 28. A couple of old fashioned 3 point plays by Gering made things difficult for Alliance. At the 5 minute mark, a Lanik three pointer stopped the spree, but a Gering three followed that made the score 41 to 31 with the G Dogs up. Back to back buckets by Meyring and Clarke sliced the Gering lead to 6 but another 3 by Gering kept AHS down by 9. Two good free throw attempts by Boyer later in the period made the score 44 to 37. The quarter closed with Gering outscoring Alliance 8 to 3 with the A Dogs getting 3 tallies by Lanik. After 3 periods of play, Gering led 52 to 40.
Four straight by Lanik opened the fourth with Alliance getting close at 52 to 44. A 2 pointer by Gering was next, but a hoop by Clarke kept the Alliance deficit at 8. Six consecutive points by Gering midway through the quarter put the game away. Down 60 to 46, Alliance’s final three points came on a 3 point play by Meyring. Final Gering 63 Alliance 49
GER 14 13 25 11 63
ALL 15 13 12 9 49
Scoring for Alliance Lanik 19 Meyring 7 Boyer 6 Clarke 5 Guerra 4 Zurn 3 Salcido 3 Fritzler 2
The Dogs will host Scottsbluff on Friday.