The scenario seemed all too familiar for Allen Community College Saturday.
The Red Devils had stood toe to toe with an opponent, and even held a double-digit, second-half lead, but soon saw that margin dissipate.
When Highland’s Josh Owens drilled a baseline jumper to knot the score at 80-80 with just under 3 minutes remaining, the Red Devil faithful had visions of another heartbreaking loss.
Not this time.
Allen’s Randy Crosby swished a tie-breaking 3-pointer on ACC’s next possession before EJ Lewis followed with a steal and layup to make it a five-point game.
The Red Devil defense took it from there, not allowing another field goal until the waning seconds of an 87-82 victory.
The win snaps an eight-game losing streak and allowed the team to exorcize a Jayhawk Conference season’s worth of frustration.
“Our guys just needed that,” Allen head coach Patrick Nee said. “Just something to put you over the hump and give you something gratifying for all the hard work you’ve put in, day in and day out.
“Our guys were just tired of losing.”
Of course, it was Allen’s own Rat Pack duo of Lewis and Crosby to lead the way.
“That’s the core of our team,” Nee said. “Their speed in the backcourt matches up with anybody’s in our conference. You saw their athleticism tonight. It was a huge point.”
The game was back and forth throughout, with Allen’s Dirk Johnson scoring on a putback just before halftime to push ACC in front, 45-44.
Lewis hit a 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark of the second half to push Allen in front by double digits, 63-52.
“We have leads all of the time,” Nee said, noting that Allen’s lack of depth — the team’s regular rotation is limited because of injury — has led to the team tiring down the stretch.
“That’s why I call certain timeouts in certain times, to give them a breather,” he noted. “We know eventually in the second half, we’re gonna get tired. But we decided, that’s not happening tonight.”
There were several other catalysts. Dante Jackson scored 15 points, Killin Spellman 13 and David Teele 12.
Just as importantly, Allen’s interior defenders limited Highland’s Chris Flippin to 14, about 5 points under the all-conference scorer’s season average.
