Allen Community College men’s basketball upped the tempo in the second half of Monday night’s game versus Southwestern College junior varsity, pulling away with a victory.
The Red Devils trounced the Mound Builders 84-60 home win. The result may not have been the same if it weren’t for the player’s response after halftime.
The game opened in ACC’s favor, with the Red Devils going racing to a 12-0 lead.
Southwestern was down 21-9 before draining a couple of 3-pointers. The Mound Builders closed the gap to 35-27 at halftime.
“We gave them confidence early in the first half,” Head Coach Andy Shaw said, “And we didn’t have that energy.”
The second half started the same way. Southwestern came out hot, narrowing ACC’s lead to just five points.
That must have been the walk-up call for the Red Devils — it was all ACC from that point on. They shined down low.
Andrew Rountree led the way with 25 points.
“We really pushed the tempo in the second half. Southwestern played hard though, I’ve got to give them credit,” Shaw said.
Cameron Blue contributed 14 points, many coming from the paint. Diallo Wesley went four for six from the field with one 3-pointer for nine points. Bryce Schippers dropped 11 points.
As a team, the Red Devils shot 33 for 69 (47 percent) from the field, 7 for 22 from 3-point range (31 percent) and 11 for 18 on free throws (61 percent).
“We came out flat in the first half and missed some easy lay-ups and some other good opportunities,” Shaw said. “We should have been well over 50 percent shooting.”
Defensively, Rountree led the team in rebounds with 11. Blue pulled down eight and Bryce Schippers pulled down six. ACC had 48 rebounds as a team, compared to Southwestern’s 31 — evidence of their height advantage and pressure under the basket. Ricky Roberts and Tray Fountain led in assists with three each, Rountree had two steals.
Shaw said the team needed to be more energetic to start games, because other teams may not be as forgiving.
However, he said he has been impressed with the way his players stepped up and passed the ball.
“We are sharing the ball better, not making as many selfish one-on-one plays,” Shaw said. “That’s the most important thing I’ve seen.”
Allen hosts Pratt Community College at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Shaw said the Red Devils need to be ready from the whistle of the first half in the next contest.
“We are a good team,” Shaw said. “We need to bring it every night,”
Southwestern (27-33—60)
ACC (35-49—84)
Southwestern (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Giddings 6/1-1-1-14, Lipsey 3-2-2-8, Holt 3/2-3-2-11, Hudson 7/3-0-4-17, Satterthwaite 0-0-3-0, Schmidt 4-2-3-10. TOTALS 23/6-8-15-60.
ACC (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Wesley 4/1-0-1-9, Roberts 3-1-1-7, Fountain 1-0-1-2, Schippers 4/3-0-0-11, Uno 2-1-3-5, Keiswalter 1-1-0-3, Barnatte 2/1-1-0-6, Blue 4/2-4-2-14, Stockebrand 0-0-1-0, Rountree 11-3-3-25, Walter 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 33/7-11-12-84.
Red Devils take control in second half in 84-60 win
