Red Devils open second half of the season with win over Dodge City

A new year brought an old face and a win to the Allen County men on Wednesday.
After going into the winter break with a three-game losing streak, the Red Devils opened 2018 up with a 93-82 win over Dodge City.
“Getting the win was great and snapping the losing streak was great,” ACC head coach Andy Shaw said. “I wish we would’ve handled the final two or three minutes better because we had some turnovers. We just could not get a rebound and we let them hang around. But I give them credit because they fought hard. We were fortunate enough to make enough plays. I’m glad we hung on.”
For the first time since Nov. 8, sophomore forward Jordan Marshall — who at one point earlier this season wasn’t with the team — played in a game. Not only did Marshall play, he dominated, scoring 25 points and grabbing 11 rebounds off the bench.
“He’s a really good player,” Shaw said. “His stats speak for themselves. After being away from the game for a while he comes back and scores 25 points and grabs 11 rebounds. That’s the type of player that he can be. He’s a big piece for us.”
Marshall is a presence that the Red Devils have missed in conference play especially with his versatility, getting buckets both inside the paint and outside the arc. Now fellow sophomore Tyler Williams — who had a fine game himself scoring 24 points — has another true threat on the offensive end to help carry the load.
“He’s a hard worker,” Shaw said. “He works out all the time.He gets in the gym. He works really hard at his game to get extra shots up. For nights like tonight when he has big numbers like he did, it’s that hard work that pays off.”
Dodge City got up on the Red Devils early, grabbing a 13-3 advantage in the first half but Allen County fought their way back and eventually took the lead at 17-15 with roughly 10 minutes to play in the half. It’s a lead they would extend and not give up for the rest of the game.
The Conqs trailed the Red Devils by seven coming out of the half and cut it down to just one point with 15 minutes to play but a 9-0 run for Allen County closed the door on a possible comeback.
The Red Devils lost the total rebound battle by 7 but compensated by giving up just nine turnovers in the entire game.
“I’d take nine turnovers for every game for the rest of the season if we could do it,” Shaw said. “Staying under double-digits is huge. Turnovers are a part of the game but when you have 18-plus, it’s hard to win.”
Dodge City got it within five a final time but a late barrage of threes pushed the Red Devils’ lead out to 13 with around four minutes to play and from there it was just a matter of time.
A Conq three with 37 seconds to play got it within 10 but free throws for Allen County pushed it back up to double digits as time expired.
The Red Devils are now 5-9 and 3-7 in conference play.  On Saturday, they face a No. 6 Hutchinson team that was upset at Cowley on Wednesday night.
“Now we go play against Hutch, who’s top of the conference and nationally ranked,” Shaw said. “They’re a powerhouse every year. So we needed the win today to get us going in the right direction before we head out on the road,” Shaw said.