GOODLAND — Allen Community College’s men came away with a victory Wednesday, but it was anything but easy.
In what head coach Andy Shaw described as “ugly,” the Red Devils overcame a hot shooting night by Northwest Tech to prevail, 89-84.
The teams traded the lead several times down the stretch before Allen’s Freddie Word drilled a 3-pointer with ACC up by one with under a minute left.
Word’s 28 points led the way, while Amabdour Traore scored 14.
But the win likely would not have been possible without the efforts of Shaikim Jenks, who scored a season-high 21 and was responsible for finding Word with a pass to the Corner on Word’s clutch trey to seal the win.
The game was just as intense in the first half. Allen shot a scorching 62% from the floor prior to intermission, but still trailed by three because Northwest was just as hot from the field, Shaw said.
ALLEN’S women fought valiantly, but came out on the short end of a 67-54 defeat.
Two Red Devil sharpshooters, Hallie Reed and Madisyn Holloway gave ACC an early lift, head coach Rachel Janzen said.
Allen and Northwest traded leads on several occasions through the first half before the Mavericks took a 33-26 lead into halftime.
Northwest maintained the cushion through the second half, despite sterling play from Adji Mbaye and Jasmine Garcia down the stretch.
“But turnovers began to show their face,’ Janzen said, including a pair of crucial lost possessions in the fourth quarter.
“The score was not indicative of how close the game went at all,” Janzen said.
Reed drilled seven 3-pointers for 21 points, while Holloway added nine. Wilfong scored eight.
“The ladies made huge strides in the game tonight,” Janzen said.
The Red Devil squads return to action Saturday at home against Colby,. The women start at noon, followed by the men at about 2 p.m.
Saturday’s home tilt will be the first allowing limited spectators in the Allen gymnasium.
