Alliance’s freshman/sophomore boy’s basketball club scored 70 points on Monday and made an amazing 14 three pointers! Unfortunately, their opponent Rapid City Christian, scored 11 more and won the contest 81 to 70 in a thriller played in Alliance. The visiting Comets outscored the hometown Dogs 22 to 9 in the fourth quarter in posting the win. Freshman Tripp Johnson paced AHS with 21 points, swishing all 7 of his three point attempts. Adding 16 was Casyn Rodriguez while Cisco Cody ended with 15 tallies. Alliance led by 2 at halftime and at the end of the third before the big Rapid rally.
Points were plentiful in the first with Alliance netting 14 and the guests scoring 19. The Comets soared to an early 5 point advantage. Early tallies by Cody and Johnson helped the Bulldogs stay in striking range. After a pair of free throws by Cody, Rodriguez came off the Dog bench to score 6 in a row. Rapid, though, was up for the challenge as the visitors matched baskets with the Dogs.
Period one finished with another charity stripe shot by Cody and Alliance down 19 to 14.
Johnson continued his hot shooting in the second, canning 3 more treys. Overall, Alliance outscored RC 22 to 15 to take a small lead. A three by Rodriguez sliced the Dogs deficit to 4 early in the second. Later on, Alliance received baskets from Mason Winter and Rodriguez to keep close. Another 3 by Johnson then ensued. Back and forth the action went as both squads found success on offense. Thanks to points by Rodriguez, Dray Konopnicki, and Israel Garcia the Bulldogs got within 2 at 32 to 30 with less than 2 left in the half. In the final stages of the second , two more three balls by Johnson helped Alliance surge ahead. The Dogs led 36 to 34 at halftime.
Seven treys by AHS in the third kept the Dogs in the lead. Both teams remarkably scored 25 points apiece in the quarter. Threes by Johnson and Cody began the scoring for Alliance. A hoop by Konopnicki later in the third gave the hosts the lead at 44 to 42. Alliance’s next 15 tallies all came from behind the three point arc with Garcia nailing 2 and Cody, Johnson, and Rodriguez making one apiece. The Comets though answered right back with 4 deuces and a three to make it a tight ball game. Quarter #3 ended with a Cody 2 and a Comet hoop. With 3 periods of play in the books, the Dogs were up 61 to 59.
Rapid seized control early in the fourth. Using an 11 to 0 spurt, Alliance fell behind by 9 in the early moments of the finale. Konopnicki ended the run with a free throw but 3 more tallies by Rapid followed. Alliance had one last threat as three pointers by Dog Danny Jelinek and Johnson got AHS to within 5 at 73 to 68. Down the stretch, it was all Comets. RC made their free throws to deny a Dog rally. Cody had one last hoop for Alliance but it wasn’t enough.
Final Rapid City Christian 81 Alliance 70
RC 19 15 25 22 81
ALL 14 22 25 9 70
Scoring for Alliance Johnson 21 Cody 15 Jelinek 3 Konopnicki 5 Garcia 8 Rodriguez 16 Winter 2