Allen comes up short against Hutch

Playing without leading scorer and rebounder Cameron Blue put Allen Community College’s men at a decided disadvantage Saturday.
Visiting Hutchinson Community College, unbeaten and ranked seventh in NJCAA Division I, was there to take full advantage.
The visiting Blue Dragons held Allen scoreless over a six-minute stretch in the first half with an 18-0 run to break open what had been a 13-13 tie.
Allen was never able to get Hutchinson’s lead back into single digits after that, falling 84-67 in the Red Devils’ home opener.
Despite the loss, Allen coach Andy Shaw took home several positives.
“I’m proud of our effort,” he said. “We fought hard. Hutch is a really good team and talented across the board. I was happy with the way we competed. It was a step in the right direction.”
Allen started slowly on offense, trailing 9-5 before Ben Uno and Tray Fountain both connected twice on field goals as part of an 8-4 run.
But the spurt coincided with early trouble for starting forward Andrew Rountree, who was whistled for his second foul at the 11:45 mark, spending the rest of the half on the bench.
Without Rountree or Blue, out because of an injury, in the lineup, Hutchinson’s 6-9 center Alex Davis made life miserable for the Red Devils.
Davis scored 15 points before intermission as Hutchinson opened a 39-22 lead.
“They really crashed the boards hard and made it tough on us,” Shaw said. “When they did miss, they either got the offensive rebound or got a hand on it.”
The Blue Dragon lead was at 45-26 when Bryce Schippers and DeAndree Barnett each connected from 3-point range as part of a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 11, 47-36, forcing a Blue Dragon timeout.
The lead was at 51-39 when Hutchinson Dre Henley scored at the 12:10 mark to kick-start a 16-2 run to put the game out of reach. The Red Devils got no closer than 12 points down the stretch.
“We finally started making shots in the second half,” Shaw said. “Bryce started hitting and DeAndree Barnette made a couple of shots for us.”
 Schippers and Ricky Roberts shared high-scoring honors for the Red Devils with 13 points apiece, while Rountree scored 12 and Barnette 11. Rountree also pulled in eight rebounds.
Davis led the Blue Dragons with 22 points. Kadeem Allen followed with 14.
Shaw praised the efforts of Allen’s Alex Keiswetter, Paul Stockebrand and Mitchell Walter, who were assigned to defend Hutchinson’s powerful front court when Rountree went to the bench.
“It was a tough test for them,” Shaw said. “They were up against some of the best players they’re gonna see all year, but they battled.”
Blue’s injury, suffered in practice last week, leaves Shaw uncertain how long the 6-6 sophomore will be sidelined.
“We’re hoping not very long,” Shaw said. “The doctors don’t think it’s broken, but there was a definite ‘pop.’ You could hear it when it happened.”
Saturday’s contest marked the first of what will be eight consecutive home games for Allen.
“It’s great to play at home,” Shaw said. “We came away with a couple of wins on the road, but we’re looking to get going now that we’re back home.”
The Red Devils (2-5) host Butler County at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Hutchinson (39-45—84)
Allen (22-45—67)
Hutchinson (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Campbell 4-0-2-8, Davis 7-8-3-22, Watson 1-1-0-3, Allen 4/1-3-1-14, Spencer 3/1-2-3-11, Whittingham 1-3-1-5, Jackson 1-0-1-2, Henley 4/1-1-1-12, Nunn 3-1-4-7. TOTALS: 28/3-19-16-84.
Allen (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Burnes 0-0-1-0, Roberts 5/1-0-1-13, Fountain 3-1-4-7, Schippers 2/3-0-1-13, Uno 4-0-3-8, Keiswetter 0-1-3-1, Barnette 1/3-0-3-11, Walden 0-0-3-0, Rountree 6-0-3-12, Walter 1-0-3-2. TOTALS: 21/7-4-25-67.