OLATHE — It was a thrilling run for the Allen Community College men’s basketball team which watched their season come to an end against Johnson County in the KJCCC Tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon, 80-56.
The Red Devils (23-10; 10-4) knocked off Kansas City Kansas Community College for their first win over the Blue Devils in the semifinal game on Friday night after getting hot from three-point land for a 74-63 win.
Against Johnson County, however, Allen was the weaker on the glass and turned the ball over a bit too much in their season ending defeat.
Friday
The early parts of Allen’s matchup with Kansas City decided how the rest of the night would unfold as the Red Devils forced 11 turnovers and made four steals on the Blue Devils. Allen scored 16 points off turnovers in the 74-63 victory.
Red Devils didn’t shoot the ball particularly well in the first half, though, hitting only 33.3% of shots from the field, but Tanner Meyer found his stroke and knocked down a couple big three-pointers. Ahmed Mahgoub also hit a three in the opening half.
Meyer’s three came six minutes into the game to extend the Allen lead to 12-8. Donovan Seamster then went underneath for a layup and the 19-14 advantage with eight minutes left in the first half. Allen went down by four with three minutes left in the first half but fought back.
Allen ended the first half on an 8-3 scoring run which was completed with a Brayden Thompson layup and a Chris Dixon jumper to give the Red Devils a 31-30 halftime lead.
Dixon knocked down a three right out of the gates in the second half to make it a 34-32 Allen lead. Meyer then hit a three to extend the Allen lead to six points, 44-38.
Dixon helped stretch Allen’s lead all the way to 12 points on a two-point jump shot with 12 minutes remaining in the game, 50-38. Meyer was fouled and hit a couple of free throws to extend the lead to 55-40 with nine minutes left.
The closest Kansas City CC would make it the rest of the way was a nine-point game a couple of times in the final minute. A couple of Nick Whittick free throws then sealed the 74-63 victory for Allen.
Meyer led Allen with a team-high 25 points, hitting four-of-six from three-point range. Dixon registered 14 points while Whittick added 10. Mahgoub led on the board with eight rebounds.
Saturday
Allen was the less physical team against Johnson County in their season-ending loss Saturday. They were out-rebounded 41 to 20 and JCCC scored 16 points off turnovers.
The Red Devils got behind early but a Dixon three five minutes into the game gave Allen an 8-7 advantage. Dixon then hit another three to keep the score within a one point deficit, 16-15.
