The Allen Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams swept their pair of home games against Hesston on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils (18-7; 7-2) held off the Larks’ shooting for a 92-86 victory while the Lady Red Devils (15-9; 4-5) held Hesston to a very cold shooting mark in the second half to come out on top in a 74-50 win.
Red Devils
Each time Allen scored the ball it seemed Hesston had an answer. Both teams shot the ball extremely well while the Red Devils stroked it at an efficient 40.5% mark.
Allen shot the ball at a high 47.5% clip against Hesston’s even more impressive 58.6% mark in the first half. From three-point range, the Larks shot 66.7%, hitting four-of-six in the first half.
“I give them credit, they stepped up and made shots,” said Allen men’s basketball coach Andy Shaw. “They made some tough shots and it felt like one of those nights where they could do no wrong on the offensive end but we also scored at a high clip, scoring 92 points.”
Allen led Hesston by six points at halftime, 50-44.
Hesston shrunk the Red Devils’ lead following halftime and tied the game. The Larks were helped out by their perimeter shooting and aggressive demeanor toward the basket, driving into the lane for many scores.
One of the biggest keys for Allen though was their ability to control the boards. ACC outrebounded Hesston, 46-27.
“That’s probably why we won the game,” said Shaw. “For them to shoot that high and us still come away with the win is perplexing. But we won the rebounding battle with 28 offensive rebounds. Those second-chance points were the key to our win.”
The Red Devils extended their lead to 11 points with only a few minutes left in the game as Tanner Meyer hit some key three-point baskets. Hesston wouldn’t go down quiet though and cut the Allen lead to less than five in the final seconds.
The Allen men hit their free throws in the final stretch and came away with the six-point victory, 92-86.
Meyer and Ahmed Mahgoub led the Allen scoring with 18 points apiece with Meyer knocking down four-of-nine of his three-point attempts. Nick Whittick scored 17 points and Chris Dixon had 16 points. Brayden Thompson and Mahgoub each had a team-high nine rebounds.
Lady Red Devils
Allen’s girls had trouble figuring out Hesston’s offense in the first half but held the Larks to only a 19% shooting mark in the second half, the main key to the victory.
