Courtney Stockard rockets ACC past Independence 81-79

A monster second half from Courtney Stockard helped Allen Community College’s mens basketball team finish off Independence 81-79 on Wednesday night.
“He really stepped up there for us late in the game. He kind of took over for us. He hit a really late basket to take us from being up two to four,” coach Andy Shaw said. “It was a really tough shot, a fadeaway off the backboard. It was a tough look, but it went in. We just stepped up at the end and made enough plays to win.”
With 1:25 to go in the game, Stockard hit one of two free throws which gave ACC the 78-76 advantage. On the defensive possession, Stockard used his ups to block a shot from Independence. The Red Devils corralled the ball and gave it back to Stockard. Consider the ball’s name “Wilson” and Stockard playing a basketball-loving Tom Hanks.
He drove the court and got a clear path to the hoop. An Indy defender stuck to him as best he could, but Stockard went up for a layup and started to fall back. As he started the fadeaway, he got the shot off and it fell in. Allen led 80-76 with 35 seconds left.
20 seconds later, Jameel Henson came up big with another block for Allen. It turned into a jumpball in the pursuing fight for the ball. Independence got the ball back with 11.5 seconds left. After a few missed shots, the Pirates’ Eric Lolar chucked up a 3-pointer that banked in with 2.8 seconds left. Independence trailed 80-79.
Talk about a key 3-pointer to keep the Pirates from submerging the ship.
“I’m proud of the effort. Independence is a scrappy team that played extremely hard,” Shaw said. “They stepped up in the second half and shot it really well. They made 6-11 from the 3-point line in the second half. That’s what kind of kept them in it. Every time we would try to separate, someone would step up and knock down a three for them.”
As soon as the ball was inbounded and in Darren Spruill’s hands, he was fouled with 2.1 seconds left. He went to the line and hit the front end of his free throws. On his second attempt he missed. But, Allen’s Josh Sweet was there to get the rebound and seal the win.
Stockard wasn’t just good down the stretch. Earlier in the second half he connected on two key plays with Sweet, that kept the fans standing.
With about nine minutes left, Sweet ran the defense from the perimeter of the 3-point line. As the focus turned to him, Stockard cut inside and jumped a mile-high. Sweet indulged, lobbing up a pass directly into the airborne Stockard. He caught the pass mid-flight and sent it down with authority for the ally-OOP. It gave Allen a 65-58 lead.
Believe it or not, the duo were able to run the exact same play again with about six minutes left. This time, Sweet took the ball at around half-court and tossed up a saucer pass near the basket for Stockard to slam. The second ally-OOP gave the Red Devils a 72-62 lead.
Allen led for the majority of the first half, leading 41-35 at halftime. The only real blemish was a 6-0 run by Independence, which put the score at 32-28 to close a 10-point gap. From there, the teams traded baskets until the end of the first half.
“We took care of the basketball and around this time of the year that’s always going to be one of the keys to the game — not turning the basketball over,” Shaw said. “We only had six turnovers tonight. So, we did pretty good at not turning over the basketball.”
The Pirates had 11 turnovers. It also helped that Independence didn’t help themselves. The team finished 13-22 at the charity strike, with most of those misses coming early in the game. The Red Devils didn’t fair much better, making 21-34 from the line. But, they made enough down the stretch to get the win.
Nadir Alston led the way for the Pirates in the paint. He scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Malik Harden ended the night with 17 points, shooting 4-10 from beyond the arc.
Stockard finished the game with 24 points on 8-17 shooting. She only grabbed four boards. His stat line wasn’t his best, but his play at the end of the game gave ACC the win. Jordan Nanton followed with 17 points, four rebounds and three assists. Spruill scored 13 points and Sweet ended with 10.
Allen (12-9 overall, 4-0 conference) travels to Coffeyville on Saturday for a 7 p.m. tip.