Street ball does not belong in his gym and Allen County Community College men’s head coach Anwar Perry made that point with his players Wednesday.
Playing “street ball” only got the Red Devils a six-point halftime lead over visiting Fort Scott Community College’s Greyhounds. The Greyhounds only suited up seven players and one of those was a walk-on.
“Once we got the ball down low in the second half, the perimeter shooting opportunities opened up for us. I sat some guys because they were playing street ball in the first half and that’s fine on the street but not on my team in this gym,” Perry said after the Red Devils nailed down a 79-66 victory.
Allen County allowed a 20-point lead slip away and it lost to Fort Scott in overtime on Jan. 7. It is the only Jayhawk East game the Greyhounds have won this season.
On Wednesday, the Red Devils never trailed but they never really put the Greyhounds away. Early in the game, the Red Devils fed the ball inside to Terrell Shears and Terrence Williams. They built an 8-4 lead.
Canon Fields hit a three-pointer and Shears’ putback made it 13-6 with 13:25 left.
“Terrell had eight points in the first half and that was all early. He ended up with 20 when we went back to getting the ball inside in the second half,” Perry said.
Allen County had the height advantage over Fort Scott.
Back-to-back three-point plays from Drelan Tripplett and Jeff Romeus had the Red Devils in front 21-12 with 6:56 left in the first half. But the plays came three-minutes apart as the Red Devils had a rash of turnovers and missed scoring opportunities.
Tyler Myrick came off the bench in a guard spot. He made a steal and scored with 1:39 on the clock. That put Allen County up by 10, 28-18.
Fort Scott’s Austin Danner hit two free throws and Cody Harper had a basket with 42 seconds left. The Greyhounds were within six, 28-22 at halftime.
“At halftime I talked to them about how we play the game here. That’s why Tyler (Myrick), Seth (Walden) and Jeff (Romeus) were on the floor in the second half. They did what I asked of them,” Perry said.
Julian Mills kept Fort Scott close triggering a 7-0 run to cut Allen County’s lead to two, 34-32, by the 15-minute mark. Walden and Danner exchanged field goals.
The game turned tide with 13:36 left as Williams had back-to-back baskets for ACCC. Walden drained a three-pointer and the Red Devils were up 43-36.
Allen County got three by three players in a row. Rickey Hollis and Walden hit from long range then Shears had a conventional three-point play. That bumped the Red Devil lead to 14, 54-40, midway through the second half.
