Allen Community College’s men’s basketball held off a furious second-half comeback from Labette to win, 85-72.
Three-point shooting came naturally to the Red Devils in the first half, hitting 6 of beyond the arc. Darren Spruill hit a pair of 3-pointers, while Jermaine Long and Josh Sweet each connected on one before intermission.
Courtney Stockard hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to extend Allen’s lead to 44-21 with 3 minutes left in the game.
Jordan Nanton didn’t contribute a 3-pointer in the game, but came about as close as one can. With 15.5 seconds left prior to halftime, Nanton was fouled while shooting a three. He then hit all three free throws, giving ACC a 49-27 advantage at the break.
“The first half we were clicking. Everything we were doing was working. We were executing,” coach Andy Shaw said. “The guys were making shots and being aggressive and took the fight to them. We had a pretty big lead and I was glad we were able to hold onto it.”
The second half was a different story.
After shooting 61 percent in the first half, Allen shot 44 percent in the half. Still good, but the drop off of 16 percent still made its presence felt. Conversely, the Cardinals went from shooting 22 percent in the first half to 52 percent in the second.
“We let things slip a bit in the second half. We got out to such a big lead in the first half, we were up 22-points at halftime,” Shaw said. “We tried to talk to our team about getting focused and bringing the same defensive intensity in the first half. I think we tried too, but Labette is a good team.
Labette started the second half on a 7-0 run, but still trailed 49-35 with 18:10 left. Darnell Jones-Bowie ended the drought for ACC with an acrobatic layup on a drive through the lane. He was also fouled and made the free throw.
Labette continued to drive the lane in the second half. The Cardinals trailed by seven, 72-65, with 5:30 left.
With three minutes left, Allen started to pull away again. Stockard scored on a pro-hop drive to take a 77-69 lead. He then stole the ball on the next possession, passing it to Spruill for the transition dunk. Allen had a 80-69 lead with 2:25 left.
Sweet finished the game with a deep, NBA range 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down. It gave Allen a 83-71 lead with a minute left.
“They’re pretty tough. They beat us at their place,” Shaw said. “I thought they would make a run, but not as large as it was. Ultimately, down the stretch we tightened up and got some stops. Josh made a real big 3-pointer to kind of seal the deal for us.”
Stockard led the team with 21 points. Sweet scored 16 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists. Spruill finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
ACC (10-9) plays at Fort Scott at 4 p.m. Friday.
Threes spark Red Devils to 85-72 win over Labette
