The gauntlet that is the Jayhawk Conference in junior college basketball continued for Allen Community College Saturday.
The Red Devils saw their losing streak extended to 10 games, this time against another perennial KJCCC power in Butler County.
The Grizzlies shot a blistering 59% from the field, and even better from 3-point range.
Butler’s shooting prowess led to an 87-74 win against ACC.
“We just couldn’t get the defensive stops that we needed to,” Allen head coach Andy Shaw said.
Butler led from the outset, but Allen offered up several challenges throughout.
The Grizzlies jumped out to a 10-3 lead before the Red Devils closed the gap to 13-10 by the mid-point of the first half.
It set the tone. To every Butler surge, Allen would respond.
The Red Devils were impressive in their own right before the break hitting 7 of 13 3-pointers, and 11 of 20 field goals overall (55%).
Problem was, Butler was 6 of 9 from 3-point land, and 16 of 25 overall (64%) and carried a 43-35 lead into the locker room.
The Red Devils started out quickly after the break, cutting the lead to two and with possession.
But a turnover led to a Butler dunk. Allen later closed the gap to six, but no closer down the stretch.
It was another case of “close but no cigar” for Allen, which lost four times on late field goals early in the season, and now is on the third leg of a murderous trifecta against Coffeyville (ranked second in the nation), Cowley (ranked 11th) and now Butler, which is just outside the top 10.
“The Jayhawk Conference might be as good as I’ve ever seen it,” Shaw said. “We’re going to keep battling.”
Freddie Word and Ed Wright paced the Red Devils with 17 points apiece, Word had four rebounds and three assists. Brayden Thompson added four rebounds. Shaikim Jenks scored 10 and dished out three assists as well. Cedric Rollerson scored 13.
DeeJuan Pruitt poured in 25 points to lead the Grizzlies. Noah Thomasson was next with 19.
