Allen Community College’s men packed a season’s worth of frustration and heartbreak into one night Wednesday.
The Red Devils fought tooth-and-nail against Labette Community College, but were sunk by a 3-pointer from the Cardinals’ Ghage Kenan with 2.7 seconds left in a 70-67 defeat.
The defeat spoiled an entertaining, if not exasperating, season-opener in which both teams struggled to pull away once they had the lead.
The second half alone featured eight ties and eight lead changes.
“There was time after time for us to seize this basketball game,” ACC head coach Andy Shaw said. “Labette’s a good team, but we feel like we should have had that one.”
The Red Devils trailed 67-65, and Labette had possession before a key block by Allen’s Brayden Thompson gave ACC possession. Freddie Word’s runner in the lane knotted the score at 67 apiece with 13 seconds left.
Labette eschewed a timeout, instead targeting Kenan at the right wing.
A defensive breakdown on Allen’s part allowed Kenan plenty of space to shoot the game-winner.
“Give them credit,” Shaw said. “Freddie made a big play to tie it up, and Kenan stepped up and nailed the game-winner. We kind of let him be comfortable and shoot it. He made us pay all night.”
Kenan hit four 3-pointers in the first half but was 0-2 from beyond the arc after intermission until the game-winner.
And while the final possession will be what garners the headlines, Shaw again pointed back to Allen’s missed opportunities earlier in the contest.
Labette sported an early 10-point lead, 29-19, before Allen responded with a 12-2 run to knot the score at 31-31.
But the Red Devils also committed two straight turnovers with the score tied at 31, preventing them from taking a lead before Labette rattled off five straight points.
The Cardinals carried a 40-37 lead into halftime.
Allen promptly cut the deficit to 40-39 on a bucket from Ahmed Magoub, but then came up empty on three straight possessions with an opportunity to take the lead.
Then, LCC scored on consecutive possessions to go back up by five, 44-39.
