Two weeks ago, the Allen Community College Red Devils appeared invincible. An 11-game winning streak fueled a 7-0 start in the Jayhawk Conference. But now, the Red Devils appear battered and bruised.
Coffeyville handed ACC its third consecutive loss on Saturday by a score of 90-80. The loss moves the Red Devils back to fourth in the Jayhawk East with a 7-3 record.
We lost our toughness on defense, head coach Andy Shaw said. During the whole win streak we had toughness on the defensive end, but I think we have lost that over the past couple of games. We are missing that chip on our shoulder and that edge it takes to close out these games.
Trailing by one midway through the first half, transfer guard Joel Boye provided his usual energy off the bench. An assist to sharp-shooter Trez Hankis for a 3-pointer, and a floater off the double crossover gave ACC the 24-20 edge.
ACC had no issue scoring inside, but the Red Devils failed to fire from deep. The Red Devils shot 3-13 from beyond the arc in the contest, while Coffeyvilles Tony Hutson sinked 5 first-half treys. The hot edge in 3-point shooting helped the Red Ravens hold a 42-40 lead after the first half.
We didnt adjust well to it, and gave them wide open shots, Shaw said. And then in the second half, they finished it at the rim.
Coffeyville extended its lead to 71-56 with 10 minutes left in the second half. Then, the Red Devils awoke to begin a tall task of a comeback. A fast-break bucket from Malik Hardmon, and put-back tip from Jaylen Sasser capped off a 10-0 Red Devil run.
While a spin and finish in the lane from Hardmon brought ACC within two, that was the closest they would sniff the lead. ACC failed to find stops down the stretch, and the Red Ravens powered to victory, 90-80.
Now riding a three-game slide, ACC is once more seeking for the winning formula it executed so well only weeks ago.
This one came down to toughness, both mental and physical, Shaw said. We are at the point in the season where not a lot is going to change.The guys know the concepts, know the plays, and what we are doing. So, it is more mental than it is physical. We have to be mentally tougher so we can be physically tough.
No game is a walk in the park in the Jayhawk Conference, but ACC faces its divisions bottom dweller Cloud County in Concordia on Wednesday. Cloud currently ranks last in the Jayhawk East with a 2-9 record.
