richard@iolaregister.com
Saturday’s 86-79 loss to visiting Hesston Community College illustrated many of the issues that have plagued the Allen Community College men this season.
The Red Devils showed several flashes of brilliance, particularly in the first half, as they raced to an early 15-point lead.
But the offense stalled after the break — as did ball movement — and Hesston began to turn the tide with its powerful transition game.
The Larks’ Mahlong Jones was a particularly nasty thorn in ACC’s side. The 6-foot guard repeatedly zipped past Allen defenders for 21 second-half points.
His 3-pointer midway through the second half gave Hesston the lead for the first time.
Allen responded briefly, with a layup and three-point play by Andrew Rountree to tie the score at 64-64 with 8:50 left in the game.
But Hesston kept up the pressure with a 10-2 run over the next four minutes.
Allen’s Bryce Schippers, who missed the Red Devils’ previous game with an injury, provided a spark off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers, the last of which cut Hesston’s lead to 78-74.
Allen regained possession, but a bad pass led to a Hesston steal and another Jones layup to restore the six-point cushion. Jones scored one final basket with 28 seconds left, coming late in the shot clock, to effectively seal the win.
Allen was downright dominant in the first half, hitting field goals at a 60-percent clip.
DeAndrae Barnette’s 3-pointer with about 11 minutes left in the half capped a 16-5 run and put the Red Devils on top 27-12.
The lead stood at 12, 46-34, at halftime.
“I told the guys the first few minutes of the second half were key,” Allen head coach Andy Shaw said. “Aside from maybe one other game, the first half was the best we’ve played all season. And we could continue to push the lead, or they would make a run at us.
“For whatever reason, we didn’t continue what we had been doing in the first half,” he continued. “Guys tried doing everything themselves, and we quit passing the ball.”
The loss puts Allen’s record at 4-8 as the Red Devils enter their winter break. They resume play Jan. 5 at home against Highland.
To add injury to insult, the Red Devils added Barnette to their list of walking wounded. He turned an ankle midway through the second half and did not return.
“We’re not happy with 4-8, but this break will give us an opportunity to get completely healthy,” Shaw said. “And we’ll come back for conference play, where everybody is 0-0.”
Rountree led the way for Allen with 19 points, followed by Ricky Roberts followed with 13 points and Barnette with 10. Cameron Blue pulled in nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Roberts and Rountree each had two steals.
Jones wound up with 28 points to lead the Larks. William Barnes and Pierre Zook scored 18 and 15 points, respectively.
Hesston (34-52—86)
Allen (46-33—79)
Hesston (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Jones 11/1-3-3-28, Roth 0-3-1-3, Barnes 6-6-4-18, Zook 4/1-4-2-15, Palmer 4-0-2-8, Smoot 4-0-5-8, Patterson 3-0-3-6. TOTALS: 32/2-16-20-86.
Allen (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Rountree 7-5-4-19, Wesley 3/1-0-2-9, Roberts 6-1-3-13, Fountain 3-1-2-7, Schippers 0/2-0-3-6, Uno 1/1-0-1-5, Keiswetter 1-0-2-2, Barnette 4-2-2-10, Blue 2/1-1-3-8, Stockebrand 0-0-1-0, Walter 0-0-1-0. TOTALS; 27/5-10-24-79.
Red Devils fall to Hesston
