The annual AHS Holiday tournament held on December 27 and 28, 2012, had the boys and girls AHS basketball teams hosting teams from Bridgeport, Mitchell, and Gordon-Rushville.
The AHS girls first played a 4-5 Mitchell team and defeated them 40-34, before moving on into the championship round to face a 3-4 Gordon-Rushville team. The Lady Bulldogs defeated Gordon-Rushville to improve their record to 5-4.
The Lady Bulldogs also defeated Scottsbluff 55-44 in Scottsbluff on January 4 and moved their record to 6-4 for the season. The Lady Dogs look forward to facing Gordon on January 8.
Of the Scottsbluff game Coach Nate Lanik said, “ It was a very competitive and fast paced game.” He said that at times it was like watching a track meet with a basketball. He was also impressed with his players’ performance and said, “We were able to put up 55 points, which was a season high for us. We were able to do this by attacking the basket and getting close range shots.” He was also very pleased with how well they shot free throws, “We were also able to shoot 60% from the Free throw line, which is an improvement on our average from the season.”
Lanik was not, however, satisfied with the defensive effort that the Lady Bulldogs gave. “We didn’t do a good job of getting back and stopping the ball while defending the paint area.” Lanik would also like to see the Lady Dogs do a better job of help side defense along with stopping dribble penetration.
The Alliance boys took second place in the Holiday tournament. In the first round of the tournament the AHS boys beat a 4-5 Mitchell team, and in the championship round AHS boys got beat by a 7-1 Bridgeport team.
The boy’s teams also faced Scottsbluff in a home game on January 4 and were defeated 50-66. Of the performance Coach Michael Baker said, “We have to do the little things right, and we will start winning games.” Baker also said, “ Right now the most important thing is too just get a one game winning streak, so it will start us off, for the tough games in the middle of our schedule.” The Bulldog boys look to face a tough Chadron team on January 11.
The Spud wishes good luck to both the boys and the girls while they compete on Friday, January 11.