The Highland Community College Scotties evened the Allen Red Devils’ Jayhawk Conference record to 3-3 with Wednesday’s 89-75 win.
The Scotties bested Allen in nearly every statical category, except free throws, while leading for much of the contest.
“It’s really hard to win when a team shoots 13-23 from three,” Allen coach Patrick Nee said. “I give Highland a ton of credit. They played great and we played poorly. I thought we played a very uninspiring defensive effort.”
Using their size in the paint, Highland limited Allen’s drives to the basket and second-chance opportunities. After going on a 10-1 run midway through the first half, Nee called a timeout as the Red Devils trailed 33-21. They recovered to end the half down 38-33.
Allen clawed back into contention after a drive by freshman guard Moses Stephenson, a 3-pointer by freshman forward Logan Shockley early in the second half.
Freshman guard Nyjah Noyes, who scored a team-leading 22 points, came off the bench for a string of jumpers and drives, keeping Allen within reach of Highland, but not close enough to take the lead.
Noyes also tied for freshman guard Braden Smith, and freshman forward Jayson Demcher for second in rebounds with four boards each. Clyde Davis Jr., Allen freshman guard, posted five rebounds while also leading the Red Devils in steals with five and was second in scoring with 18 points.
The loss drops Allen’s record to 12-9 overall. It also put the Red Devils back in the middle of the pack of the Jayhawk Conference standings.
Johnson County Community College (6-0) and Fort Scott (5-1) own the top two spots after the first round of conference play. Highland (3-3) and Allen (3-3) are tied for third with Neosho (2-4) and Kansas City Kansas Community College (2-4) close behind.
The KCKCC Blue Devils come to town Saturday. After defeating the Blue Devils in their January conference opener, Coach Nee said beating them twice will not be easy, but the Red Devils seem up to the task.
“We have put ourselves now in a logjam from third to sixth place in the conference,” Nee said. “Kansas City is a very good team and it’s very difficult to sweep teams in this conference, so Saturday is a very big game. We will learn a lot about this team Saturday, but I know that locker room. And I know we will be ready.”
Tip-off is at 4 p.m.
