Despite outshooting Highland Community College three shots to every two, Allen Community College’s men’s basketball team lost its first conference game, 84-77, Wednesday night.
“Highland’s a good team. They made some big shots to extend their lead,” coach Andy Shaw said. “But, it’s on us. We didn’t defend, we didn’t stay in our stance. We couldn’t keep anyone in front. We gave up way too many layups.”
Down the stretch, Highland seemed to get everything to fall. Allen shot a lackluster 35 percent compared to Highland’s 59 percent.
“You’re not going to win any games letting your opponents shoot 59 percent,” Shaw said. “We shot the ball 22 more times than they did — they shot it 44 times, we shot it 66 times. They made three more field goals than we did.”
With 7:15 remaining, Josh Sweet hit a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 62-61 — still in favor of Highland.
Sweet was more like a Red Hot candy, his shooting was so hot. He made 6 of 10 3-pointers and was 8-15 overall, which was good enough for a team-high 25 points.
With seven minutes left, ACC’s Jordan Nanton tied the game at 62-62. Highland responded with another lengthy run.
By the time Allen started to make shots, only 1:30 remained. Jermaine Long connected on a 3-pointer to bring the score within six at 75-69.
With only a minute left and a couple of Highland free throws, Sweet stole the ball. He missed his 3-point attempt, but Courtney Stockard cleaned up the glass and scored on a putback.
Allen was within six again, but, that was as close as they got before the clock ran out.
“We let them shoot an extremely high percentage because we couldn’t keep anyone in front,” Shaw said. “We had a chance to win the game, but those missed opportunities were too much.”
The Scotties had five score in double-figures.
Leading the way was Kyle-Michael Rose with 25 points. As a team, Highland outrebounded Allen 42-32. Oddly enough, the Red Devils canceled that stat by turning the ball over eight fewer times than the Scotties. Allen finished the game with 13 turnovers compared to Highland’s 21.
After Sweet’s 24 points, Stockard finished with 22. He also had a double-double, securing 13 rebounds to lead the team. Long ended the game with 12 points.
Allen (13-10 overall, 5-1 conference) plays at Independence Saturday.
Allen is still in first place of the KJCCC Eastern Division, just ahead of Cowley (6-2 conference). Allen has seven more games to play.
Conference winning streak snapped
