For the third time in a row, the Alliance St. Agnes boy’s basketball team was crowned Panhandle Conference champs. The Crusaders defeated Hemingford 56 to 23 on Monday to capture the title. St. Agnes began the day with wins over Cody Kilgore and Crawford then downed the Bobcats for their third straight crown. The tournament was played in Hay Springs and consisted of 9 teams. With the victory, the Academy goes to 7 and 2 for the season. Alliance got a super game from Cisco Cody who led the Academy offense with 20 points. It was was the third time in a row Alliance faced Hemingford for the title with the Crusaders getting the victory in all three matches. The Bobcats also had a nice tourney, going three and one. Hemingford downed Morrill in their opener 32 to 10. Then defeated Hay Springs 31 to 12 to advance to a semi final matchup with Hyannis. In the game of the day, the Cats slipped past the Longhorns 33 to 32 on a last second basket by Cooper Gallas. The lone loss of the day for the Bobcats came in the finals against SA.
In the first 3 minutes of action, play was tight. St. Agnes got on the board first with a 3 pointer by Tripp Johnson and a Cody hoop which put the Crusaders ahead 5 to 0. Hemingford answered back with a three by Teagan O’Gorman that made the score 5 to 3. The teams then swapped scores with Alliance getting another hoop by Johnson and the Cats getting a 2 by O’Gorman. Up only by 2, Alliance went on a 7 to 0 run thanks to goal by Joe Collins and 5 straight points by Cody. A free throw with under 2 minutes left by Bobcat Andrew Miller stopped the Alliance spree but the quarter closed with a Cody three. After 6 minutes of play, SA led 17 to 6.
Another trey by Cody is how the second started. Down 20 to 6, Hemingford got a score from Warner Tallon to get closer. Back to back baskets later in the period by Crusader Grayson Dibrito and Cody gave the Academy a 16 point cushion. Another 3 ball by O’Gorman gave the Cats hope at 24 to 11 but the half came to a conclusion with a 3 and 2 point hoop by Johnson. The teams went to half with the Academy up 29 to 11.
Any thoughts of a Bobcat comeback were quickly put to rest in the opening stages of the third. Alliance came out strong with 10 consecutive points to surge ahead by 39 to 11. Three point goals by Danny Jelinek and Cody plus 2 pointers by Phoenix Red Nest and Dibrito helped the Crusaders go up by 28 at the three minute mark. The period’s final point all came from the Bobcats with Hemingford getting baskets by Miller, O’Gorman, and Fletcher Moseman. St. Agnes took a 39 to 17 advantage heading to the fourth.
Period #4 had Alliance putting 17 points in the score column while holding the Cats to just 6. A Red Nest three began the scoring for the Academy. It was followed by a score by Cody that put the Hemingford deficit at 27. The Bobcats then got a hoop by Branson Danner that made the score 44 to 19. The games next 10 point all belonged to the Crusaders with Collins scoring 4 and SA getting three point goals by Braden Myers and Mason Conyers. Hemingford would close the contest with 2 baskets by James Lanier while Alliance got a deuce by Declan Kirchner. Final Crusaders 56 Cats 23
HEM 6 5 6 6 23
SA 17 12 10 17 56
Scoring for Hemingford O’Gorman 10 Lanier 4 Miller 3 Tallon 2 Danner 2 Moseman 2
Scoring for Alliance Cody 20 Johnson 10 Collins 6 Red Nest 5 Dibrito 4 Myers 3 Conyers 3 Jelinek 3 Kirchner 2
The teams met again on Monday with games in Hemingford.