Allen Community College men and women were able to topple Garden City Community College Saturday night at home. This is the rundown of Saturdays action:
ACC men
Head coach Andy Shaw earned his 100th victory in ACCs 94-81 win over the Broncbusters. But before the Red Devils could pull away, they traded baskets with Garden City in the first half. Neither team was able to extend their lead past three points until the Red Devils closed the first half strong, taking a 42-35 lead.
In the second half, ACC dominated. The Red Devils led by double digits for most of the second half. Anytime the Bronbusters inched closer, the Devils seamlessly punched back. A big reason for ACCs dominance was the performance of sophomore forward Malik Hardmon. Hardmon finished with a season-high 35 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe, and 12 rebounds. Freshman floor general Cedric Rollerson also shined with an 18-point performance, and Joel Boyce also reached double figures with 15 points.
The win over Garden City is ACCs sixth consecutive win. The Devils move to 7-4 on the season, along with a perfect 2-0 mark in conference play. The Red Devils will be back in action on Wednesday night as ACC travels to Liberal for a matchup against Seward County.
ACC Women
The Lady Devils were successful in turning their fortunes around after a 74-49 loss at Pratt to open conference play. Team basketball and tough defense were the difference. ACC earned the 86-81 victory.
The backcourt duo of Courtney Crippen and Ariel Walker caused problems for Garden City in the first half. Crippen and Walkers ability to finish inside the lane was too tall of a task for the Broncbusters, and despite six first-half lead changes, the Lady Devils led 43-35 at the break.
ACC began to pull away in the second half after Maisie Schroeder delivered back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Lady Devil lead. Brandi Jordan also provided a spark with her scoring and playmaking ability to help the Lady Devils earn a 10-point lead heading into the final period. Garden City refused to go away, and pulled itself within two points with two minutes left to play. Zariah Sango powered ACC down the stretch by using her 6-4 frame to recover crucial offensive rebounds down the stretch.
Walker finished as ACCs leading scorer with 18 points, and also posted an impressive performance on the defensive end by adding four steals to her name. Also in double figures were Schroeder (17), Crippen (16), Jordan (14), and Sango (13).
With the win, ACC moves to 6-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Lady Devils will have all week to prepare for a home matchup with Colby at 2 p.m.
