The Allen Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams easily rolled over a pair of junior varsity squads in their regular season home openers on Tuesday.
The No. 4 men’s Red Devils dominated Ottawa JV on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor in a 99-56 rout while the Lady Red Devils shut down McPherson JV, 86-25.
Men’s Basketball
Allen began its scoring early on a Tanner Meyer three-point knockdown from the corner only a few seconds into the game which sparked a dominant offensive effort. Meyer ultimately finished his night with nine points and went two-of-six from three-point land.
Ottawa cut into the lead with a couple of three-pointers through the opening half but the Red Devils forced more turnovers to keep the lead and build an even greater margin.
Allen pulled away by halftime to make it a 27-point game, 48-21.
“We made shots, but as always our defense is what carried us through,” said Allen head coach Andy Shaw. “It’s not only about one or two guys, it’s about the collective team and we had good energy on defense.”
The Red Devils struck quickly in the second half, extending their lead to 30 points in just a few minutes.
Allen’s Ahmed Mahgoub led the scoring run with a team-high 23 points, going 8-of-10 from the floor. ACC freshman Bryce Dean also hit some late three-pointers, finishing with 17 points and going 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point line.
“He’s (Mahgoub) a third year guy, he’s got a lot of experience,” Shaw said. “The last two years he’s just always been a glue guy. He has his moments where he has performances like tonight where he goes and scores 20 points and sometimes where he may only have five points but he’s getting six or seven rebounds. He’s not a one trick pony.”
Red Devil Chris Dixon scored throughout the whole game and finished with 16 points, followed by Killian Spellman’s nine points off the bench.
Allen’s defense forced 21 Ottawa turnovers. The Red Devils also had 12 steals and outrebounded the Braves, 49-36, proving that defense and rebounding are central to their success.
“I told the guys they would be out for us. We knew the size they had,” said Shaw. “This was the rare occasion where we played a JV team and we were the smaller team. Rebounding is more about effort, heart and going to the basket.”
The Allen men will hit the road to play against Cowley County and Coffeyville this weekend in Ark City.
Women’s Basketball
The Lady Red Devils jumped out to an early 26-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. The early scoring was led by a pair of Noa Muranaka three-pointers and a trio of two-point baskets by Jania Jones.
“Not only did she (Muranaka) shoot the ball well but she’s a point guard with a shooting mentality,” Allen head coach Leslie Crane said. “Jania is good around the bucket with rebounds and put backs. She’s just got to learn defense and how to move better. She’s got to get a lot stronger to stay in the lane, but she’s a presence inside.”
Muranaka continued her heated shooting in the second quarter with a three-pointer from the top of the key while Madison Burroughs also knocked down a three-pointer from the right elbow. Allen’s Sarah Ortiz also got involved before halftime with four second-quarter points.
