Allen sweeps Southeast Holiday Classic

The Red Devils men's basketball team won a pair of matchups over Southeast Community College and Central Community College-Columbus at the Southeast Holiday Classic over the weekend.

By

Sports

December 5, 2022 - 2:30 PM

Allen men’s basketball player Chris Dixon (0) drives into the lane against North Central Missouri on Tuesday, November 29. Photo by Quinn Burkitt

BEATRICE — The Allen Community College men’s basketball team swept their pair of games at the Holiday Classic in Beatrice, Neb. over the weekend. 

On Friday, the Red Devils (8-5) defeated Southeast Community College, 58-45, and then won a one possession game over Central Community College-Columbus, 54-52. 

Allen outshot Southeast from the field in their double-digit victory, 41.5% to 26.9%. Chris Dixon led the scoring with 17 points, followed by Ahmed Mahgoub and Brayden Thompson’s 15 points. 

Mahgoub’s performance included hitting seven-of-13 shots from the floor and one-of-two three-pointers.

The Red Devils won the battle up front as they outrebounded the Storm, 42-39. Thompson was all over the boards for Allen as he swooped in for 16 rebounds while Dixon and Mahgoub each collected eight rebounds. 

“I am proud of the way we played on the defensive end,” said Allen head coach Andy Shaw. “We held Southeast to just 45 points for the game, and then held Central to just 52 points. Our defense carried us to two big wins on the road. We will need to clean some things up on the offensive end but our defense is what will continue to win us games.”

The Storm shot better from beyond the three-point line, 22.7% to 16.7%. Maijhe Wiley hit two-of-seven shots from three-point range to lead Southeast. 

Allen then knocked off Central Community College-Columbus, 54-52. 

Sophomore Nick Whittick scored the game-winning shot in the final seconds of the game.

Both teams shot poorly in the low-scoring matchup. Donovan Seamster came out and nailed a few threw-pointers to put Allen ahead early. After Southeast got back into the game with good shooting from Trey Deveaux, the Storm knotted the score at halftime, 25-25. 

The lead went back and forth throughout the game. 

Seamster hit a go-ahead three-pointer to put Allen ahead by one point with only a few minutes left in the second half. 

Central Community College was ultimately fouled with 13 seconds left. The Raiders hit the first free throw but missed the second to knot the game. 

The Devils then got the ball to point guard Whittick who dribbled down the court and hit a game-winning shot with three seconds left. Thompson assisted Whittick on the shot with a ball screen that allowed some space for the clutch shot.

“Nick Whittick stepped up and made a big time play against Central to give us the win at the buzzer, but it was a total team effort,” Shaw said. “Now we have to shift our attention to Metropolitan. We lost by 10 earlier in the year when we played them at their place. We’re hoping to have a great crowd on Tuesday evening.”

Related