OVERLAND PARK — The Allen Red Devils men’s and women’s basketball teams split a pair of matchups at Johnson County Community College on Saturday afternoon.
The Allen men (17-6; 6-1) were saved by a strong run late in the second half to secure a 64-54 victory. The Lady Red Devils (14-8; 3-4) fell after shooting poor the entire night in a 58-47 loss.
Red Devils
The Red Devils trailed most of the game at JCC but sealed the victory when they went on a late 9-0 scoring run in the last five minutes of regulation to take a 10-point win. Nick Whittick and Ahmed Mahgoub each made big shots to down the Cavaliers.
Both squads struggled to get shots to fall in the first half, combining to shoot only 32.8% from the floor; the Red Devils were at 28.1% in the first half. Johnson County snatched a pair of steals off four Allen turnovers in the first half which they turned into easy transition points.
The Red Devils also made only one-of-11 of their three-point attempts in the first half.
Allen trailed Johnson County by 10 points midway through the first half before Trevian Sylvester nailed a three to help bring the Red Devils closer. Behind Sylvester’s big three and Chris Dixon’s eight points in the first half, Allen cut the halftime deficit to five, 28-23.
Dixon then helped Allen jump in front in the opening minutes of the second half when he connected on a triple. Both teams traded points the rest of the second half until ACC turned up the heat in the remaining 5 minutes.
ACC’s Whittick was seven-for-seven for 15 points in the second half and Tanner Meyer chipped in seven.
The Red Devils also hit their free throws in the final minute to secure a 10-point win, 64-54.
Whittick led Allen offensively with 19 points. Ahmed Mahgoub scored 10 on five-of-nine shooting and Dixon added eight points and snatched eight rebounds.
Allen is ranked No. 19 in the country in the latest NJCAA DII rankings.
Lady Red Devils
The Allen ladies weren’t as fortunate in their matchup with Johnson County, after falling by 11 points, 58-47.
Poor shooting plagued the Lady Devils, shooting 28.8% from the floor; of which 20% was from three-point range.
