Neither Allen Community College or Cowley College could find an offensive rhythm in the Red Devils 75-74 last-minute win Wednesday night. The referees prevented either team finding a rhythm, calling 51 fouls throughout the game.
“They weren’t bad calls; I thought the officials did a good job,” coach Andy Shaw said. “They officiate the game how they’re told to. We were fortunate to get plays down the stretch.”
The Red Devils secured the one-point lead and the win on a drive by Josh Sweet, who scored on a one-handed layup with 1:05 remaining in the game. Both teams failed to score in the final minute. Cowley had the ball with about 12 seconds left, got off a shot and missed.
With 7:05 remaining in the game, Cowley took the lead with the start of a 6-0 run. Cowley’s Tray Wheeler made two free throws, Jarvis Cannon scored on a drive through the lane and Cedric Johnson scored on a baseline jumper to give Cowley the 70-67 lead with 5:25 left in the game.
Allen stuck with them, but were down 74-68 with just over three minutes to go. Jordan Nanton hit a key 3-pointer to cut the lead in half and John Cornett scored from underneath the hoop with 1:40 left. That’s when Sweet took over to give Allen the lead and eventual win.
“Things weren’t looking great, but we got a couple of stops late in the game and we made enough plays on the offensive end to get our first region win,” Shaw said. “So, we’ll take it.”
With so many fouls throughout the game, neither team really took over. Allen had its biggest lead of the game, 35-23, with five minutes left in the first half. But, Cowley’s Dwight Richards kept the Tigers in the game with nine points, including two 3-pointers, over a two-minute span.
Allen led 40-35 at the half, but were outscored 39-35 in the second half.
“Going back to Christmas break, we had lost our last game before break and we lost our first two back from break,” Shaw said. “So, we were fortunate to get this one tonight and hopefully we can start a little winning streak.”
With all the fouls, free throws were key to the win. Allen Shot 26-38 (68.4 percent) from the line as a team. Cowley shot 16-29 (55.2 percent) from the free throw line.
Although Sweet did hit the game winning shot, he was one of the many players struggling to find a rhythm. He led the team with 17 points, but made 5-19 field goal attempts in the game. He shot 5-5 from the free throw line.
Darren Spruill and Cornett each followed with 11 points. Jameel Henson led the team with nine rebounds, while also adding six points.
Allen (8-9) hosts Oklahoma Wesleyan JV on Monday at 7 p.m.
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