Last year brought changes in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference schedule — for the first time in years, some conference games were played before Christmas. Also the Jayhawk Shoot-Out was moved to January.
More changes came this season. No more Shoot-Out, the KJCCC showcase for all the conference basketball teams. The loss of a corporate sponsor prompted the conference to drop the three-day event.
Allen County Community College’s Red Devil women and men open 2010-2011 Jayhawk Eastern Division play Wednesday. The Red Devil teams play at Neosho County Community College in Chanute. The women’s game starts at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s contest at 8 o’clock in the NCCC gym.
“It’s like rival week,” said Anwar Perry, ACCC men’s head coach. “We know that Neosho County can shoot well from outside. They shoot a lot of threes.”
The ACCC men (1-6) , who just picked up their first win last week, average 70 points a game while the Panthers (5-5) have averaged 81 points a game.
“We have to be prepared to stay focused for a full 40 minutes and limit dry spells offensively,” Perry said. “We’ve had spells when we can’t score or can’t stop people and games get away from us.”
Allen County’s men led in scoring and rebounding by sophomore guard Jason Smith. Smith averages almost 22 points a game plus had 49 rebounds. Smith also is the team leader in assists with 33 and in steals with 12.
Terrell Shears, a 6-7 freshman forward, averages 11 points and six rebounds a game for ACCC. Sophomore guard/forward Keevis Tukes scores just over 10 points a game.
For the ACCC women, breaking a five-game losing streak and getting a conference win are the goals for Wednesday. The Red Devil women are 2-6 while the Panther women are 1-8.
“We’re looking at it as if everyone is 0-0. We have a week to work and get better before we open Jayhawk conference play,” said Marcus Hicks, ACCC women’s head coach. “Our players have to learn they have to play at a high intensity level for 40 minutes. We haven’t done that yet.”
Allen County averages 56 points a game as a team while Neosho County averages 48 points.
Getting sophomore guard Danielle Best back on track is important for the Red Devil women. Best, who has hit 28 of 81 attempts from three-point range, leads the team with 100 points. Freshman Rackell Goldson, another three-point shooter, has 96 points and 43 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Queona Walker has scored 70 points and dished out 32 assists.
The ACCC teams host Highland Saturday in Jayhawk East play.
