A cold start against a powerful opponent put Allen Community College’s men behind the 8-ball Wednesday as the Red Devils hosted unbeaten North Central Missouri, the nation’s third-ranked NCAA-Division II school.
The Pirates blitzed Allen through the first 8 minutes of the contest, racing to a 23-4 lead.
The Red Devils rallied, clawing back to within seven with just under 4 minutes left in the game. But for every Allen action, North Central’s Tyler King and Jon Carroll were usually there with an answer.
King scored 28 points and Carroll 24 as North Central kept ACC at bay with an 85-71 win.
The loss drops Allen to 3-8 against one of the toughest pre-conference schedules in the country, with more work to be done.
Allen travels to Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday before venturing to Connors State College near Muskogee, Okla., on Monday. The Red Devils will wrap up their non-conference schedule next Wednesday at home against Ottawa University’s junior varsity squad.
Allen’s Tymell Stevenson and Malachi Schilreff helped bust the Red Devils out of their early doldrums.
Stevenson scored all eight of ACC’s points with a pair of 3-pointers and an inside layup to slice North Central’s lead to 26-12.
Schilreff took the baton from there, scoring on a pair of layups and a 3-pointer, keeping Allen within shouting distance at 37-22. Stevenson ended the half with a 3-pointer and a short jumper, keeping the margin at 42-29 at the break.
North Central maintained control through the second half, but Allen didn’t go away quietly.
Schilreff’s 3-point play at the 10-minute mark made it a 10-point game, 55-65. The lead wavered around 10 until Henri Ray-Young drilled a 3-pointer to make it 70-63 with 3:50 left.
But King responded with a trey of his own to push the margin back to double digits for good.
Stevenson led Allen with 20 points and 10 boards, but exited after crashing to the floor while fighting for a rebound. He did not return.
Schilreff added 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting, and pulled in six steals. Ray-Young added 10 points. Javontae Costner dished out four assists. Mike Smith chipped in with eight points
Allen guard Tyler Pinder scored five points, but was limited to 1 of 15 shooting.
