It’s not a stretch to say Allen Community College’s men could be on quite a roll.
In the first three weeks of the 2021 campaign, the Red Devils have battled some of the most talented junior college teams in the nation to a near standstill.
Alas, three of those nail-biters have turned into heartbreak, including Wednesday’s 73-71 defeat to No. 14 Dodge City.
Wednesday’s setback was especially raw because the Red Devils overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half only to see the effort erased in the last minute.
With 1:25 remaining, Freddie Word nailed a crucial 3-pointer.
But then Dodge City’s Dhieu Deing drilled a trey of his own from well beyond the 3-point stripe to give the Conquistadors the lead for good.
Allen’s Amadou “Shaq” Traore scored on a layup with 45 seconds left to trim the deficit, and the Red Devils narrowly missed getting the ball back following a missed Dodge City shot. Instead, a save attempt by ACC’s Cory Reynolds wound up in the hands of Dodge City’s Michael Marsh, who scored on the putback to make it 73-70 with 21 seconds left.
Nick Whittick, who had repeatedly gouged the Conquistador defense by driving layups in the second half, was off the mark with 10 seconds left. The Conquistadors corralled the rebound and were fouled, but Deing missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving possession back to Allen.
The Conqs intentionally fouled Allen’s Freddie Word with 1½ seconds left to prevent him from attempting a 3-pointer.
Word hit the first free throw, and intentionally missed the second to give Allen a shot at a game-tying putback. But the ball deflected off Amadore’s hands and popped ino the air, preventing a second putback attempt.
“Freddie did a great job of missing that second one,” Red Devil head coach Andy Shaw said. “Shaq got a finger on it.”
But not enough.
The loss drops Allen to 3-4 on the season, and illustrates how fleeting college basketball can be, Shaw noted.
“We went toe-to-toe with a really good, talented team,” Shaw said. “We just have to build off it, and try to come away with a win. We’re right there, a couple plays away from being 6-1.”
The Red Devils got off to a rough start, falling behind 21-6 in the game’s first 9 minutes.
But Dodge City’s shots stopped falling and Allen found its groove. Ed Wright’s 3-pointer with 5:05 left in the half sliced the deficit to 28-23.
Traore’s jumper midway through the second half pulled Allen to within 46-42 before Dodge City responded with an 11-0 run.
