Try as they might, Allen Community College’s Red Devils were in trouble.
They struggled mightily through a miserable 10-minute stretch of their Region VI championship game against Johnson County.
The Cavaliers embarked on a 28-5 run, turning Allen’s 30-19 lead into a 48-35 deficit by the 12-minute mark of the second half.
The Red Devils responded as they’ve done all season, by cranking up their defensive intensity and following the scoring lead by sophomore Ed Wright II.
But even then, the odds were against them. Allen still trailed by five with 48 seconds remaining.
But a clutch 3-pointer from Tyren Shelley set the stage for Wright, who was fouled on his 3-point attempt with 12.5 seconds left. Wright was awarded three free throws and calmly drained them all to give the Red Devils the lead in their 74-72 win.
So was he nervous?
“No, sir, I’d done it before,” Wright said, noting the best free throw shooters rely on muscle memory and focus. “In big moments, it’s a little part of the game, so I try not to make a big deal out of it, so I don’t psych myself out up there.”
Still, the victory wasn’t secure until the officiating crew reviewed what would have been a game-tying putback by Johnson County’s Korey Jones at the buzzer.
Wright, a sophomore out of Lorain, Ohio, had a perfect vantage point.
“I was right under the hoop,” he laughed. “It was scary. I thought it counted. I thought, ‘Oh, no, we’re going to overtime.”
Alas, the video review determined Jones had not released the ball until after the buzzer. The missed shot gave ACC its first regional title since 1924.
The victory also secured Allen’s first ever trip to the upcoming NJCAA-Division II National Tournament, which gets underway next week in Danville, Ill.
Allen (27-5) will take on the Lakeland (Ohio) Lakers (23-1) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Danville’s Mary Miller Arena in the first round. Allen is seeded ninth; Lakeland eighth.
A win sets up a potential showdown with top-seeded and unbeaten South Suburban (Ill.) College.
