ACC’s men’s basketball opened its regular season on Tuesday in style, defeating Bethany’s JV team 102-38 in a game that was never truly close.
Allen started the game slowly. Nothing seemed to want to go in the basket. Allen then got aggressive and shots started to fall for the Red Devils. It was lights out from there, running to a 17-6 lead after the first 10 minutes.
“Tonight was a tune-up for us,” said Allen Community College head coach Andy Shaw. “We came out and handled business like we were hoping to. The first three minutes were kind of sloppy with turnovers, but in the first game of the year, there are always jitters and some nervousness going on. After that, we calmed down and were able to dominate from there.”
“A game like this gives us a lot of confidence,” Shaw added.lot of confidence,” Shaw added.Bethany had only eight players on its team compared to the larger roster both in numbers and size for Allen
“We played 17 guys tonight and obviously, that doesn’t happen every night,” Shaw said. “We have some tough decisions to make moving forward in these games that should be a little closer.”
Allen led 54-12 at the end of the first half. As the Red Devils crept toward the 100-point mark the crowd grew louder.
“We played great from the jump,” said Allen sophomore guard Ed Wright. “We worked on this all summer in the weight room and practice shooting. Everyone is dedicated this year. We have a lot of talent and size and pieces to be great. Tonight we showed every piece on offense and defense.”
The Red Devils came out after the half and continued to apply pressure. Many times, teams with leads like that tend to take the foot off the gas.
“Coach came to us at halftime and told us even though we have a big lead we can’t just play down to their level,” Wright remarked. “We have to play up to the level we think we can. I feel like we did that, executed, and tried to run our plays the best we can.”
Zabriel Boozer had nine points and three rebounds. Cedric Rollerson had 14 points and five assists. Wright had five points, three rebounds, and one assist. Xavier Evans had 12 points and three rebounds.
Allen’s Ed Wright stretches his leg during a time out vs Bethany.
Photo by Reese Becker / Iola Register
Allen’s Ed Wright stretches during a break in action
Photo by Reese Becker / Iola Register
Allen’s Christian Arndt and Brandon Lawrence wait to check into a game..
Photo by Reese Becker / Iola Register
Wright had a big steal late to hammer home the dominant performance by the Red Devils.
“It affects both sides,” Wright said of the steal, emphatic dunks, and high-energy plays. “On our side, it makes us keep going, but on the other side it drains the other team’s energy and it just feeds us.”
Allen has a big weekend ahead. The Red Devils will be tested early when Cowley County Community College comes for the Allen Classic on Friday. Cowley was one of the best Division I teams last year and is expected to be there again this season.
“We just need to take it one game at a time,” Wright said. “Every game we want to go 1-0 and focus on winning the game that day. No matter what our record is, we just want to focus on the game in front of us. Cowley is a good team. We just have to come out and play.”
