PARSONS — The Allen Red Devils were set back against Labette Community College on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils (17-7; 6-2) led until the final minute in a heartbreaking 68-65 loss.
The Lady Red Devils (14-9; 3-5) were the less physical team in a game decided by second chance points in a 52-44 defeat.
Red Devils
Allen got out to an early lead and held on by as many as 12 points with only a couple minutes left before halftime.
The Red Devils were forced into four turnovers in the final minutes of the first half which shrunk their lead to 36-32 at the break.
Allen committed a total of 17 turnovers, led by Nick Whittick’s team-high five turnovers.
Allen maintained a six-point lead through most of the second half before more turnovers allowed Labette to crawl back into the game again. Allen’s lead was just two points with a minute left in the game.
Labette’s Eric Dillinger then came through in the clutch, knocking down a go-ahead three. The Red Devils then turned the ball over again and fouled the Cardinals who sank both of their free throws and took a three-point lead.
With only a second left, the Red Devils rebounded the ball and Chris Dixon chucked a half court shot which was unsuccessful.
The loss was Allen’s second in conference play.
Brayden Thompson and Dixon led the Red Devils’ offense with 17 points apiece, followed by Ahmed Mahgoub’s 11 points. Thompson shot seven-for-13 from the floor while Dixon hit three-of-eight three-point attempts. Thompson and Mahgoub led with six rebounds apiece.
Allen is in a three-way tie for the first place spot in the Jayhawk conference alongside Kansas City Kansas and Johnson County.
Lady Red Devils
The Allen ladies allowed a rough second quarter to get the best of them in an eight-point loss to Labette, 52-44. The Lady Devils outscored the Cardinals in the third and fourth quarters and tied Labette’s total in the first quarter.
The main nemesis for the Lady Devils was their rebounding, where they were outrebounded, 42-28. Shade Richardson led the Allen rebounding as one of the smallest girls on the floor with five boards. Skyler Evans grabbed four rebounds.
The Lady Devils outshot the Cardinals from distance, 21.7% to 16.7% but were outshot from the whole field, 37.3% to 32.7%. Noa Muranaka poured in a team-high nine points on three-of-11 shooting from three-point range while Naomi Smith and Richardson each had eight.
Allen forced more turnovers than Labette, 22-19, but were outplayed underneath the basket where they couldn’t seem to stop a tough Labette interior offensive attack. Ishuana Hunter led her Cardinals with eight rebounds and six Cardinals had five or more rebounds.
Allen will host Hesston College on Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m.
