By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
Alliance went on the road to Gering to start the high school basketball season, but despite spirited efforts they lost both games, 49-41 for the girls and 57-52 for the boys.
The girl's game was a back-and-forth battle for three quarters as they were tied 14-14 after one quarter and Alliance outscored Gering 12-9 to take a three-point lead at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to Alliance as they shut down Gering 8-2 to take a nine-point lead into the fourth.
The final quarter belonged to Gering as they used a full court press to turnover Alliance and outscore them 24-7 to earn the win.
Jaelynne Clarke earned Nebraska Bank Player of the Game Honors after leading Alliance in points and steals and rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
On the boy's side, Alliance led 10-1 early in the first quarter against Gering, but Uriah Ybarra got going offensively for Gering to finish for 25 points in his teams win.
Alliance fell behind by double digits in the 2nd half but rallied in the fourth quarter to get within two points before Gering took advantage of layup and foul on Ybarra plus a technical foul that helped Gering pull away in the final minutes.
Tristen Timbers earned Player of the Game honors for leading Alliance in scoring despite getting into foul trouble throughout the game. Timbers and Seth Meyring were the two Alliance players in double figure scoring. Espen Lanik hit two big three pointers in the fourth quarter to get Alliance closer and Filippo Bandera also scored six of his seven points in the fourth as well.
Next up for Alliance is home games against North Platte on Friday.