Two newcomers to Allen Community College’s basketball team this season, Freddie Word and Amadou “Shaq” Traore, showed just how special the dynamic duo can be Saturday.
Word scored 20 points in the second half, while Traore was a dominating force inside from start to finish with 19 points and 13 boards in the Red Devils’ 81-67 victory over visiting Fort Scott.
The win lifts Allen to 1-1 as the Red Devils prepare for the start of conference play with visiting Seward County on Wednesday.
Unlike a disappointing loss earlier in the week to Labette County, Allen’s effort and intensity were enough to hold off any and all Fort Scott rallies.
“We really challenged them in practice, and they responded the way I thought they would,” Allen head coach Andy Shaw said. “I was all over them about paying attention to detail. It’s not always about the X’s and O’s and the offense and defense we’re running. It’s about the passion and intensity they play the game with.”
Shaw’s synopsis from Saturday.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better.”
Allen trailed 26-23 before ending the half on a 9-3 run, with Word scoring the final two buckets before intermission.
Tyren Shelley joined the fun in the second half, hitting three of 3-pointers as the Red Devils quickly stretched the lead. Two of the shots came in a 9-4 run to open the second half to push Allen’s lead into double figures.
Word then scored on a putback after Traore missed on a breakaway dunk to stretch the margin to 15. Word collided with a Fort Scott defender on his way to the floor, and exited the game briefly.
“I hit somebody’s knee,” Word said. “I was OK.”
Shaw said Word and Traore will be key leaders for Allen as conference action gets underway.
“I challenged everybody, but I challenged Freddie and Shaq specifically,” Shaw said.. “That’s the hardest part of geocaching. It’s good to see that they have that in them. We need to be that team moving forward..
“If we bring that passion every single day, we’ll be pretty good.”
Word wound up scoring 30 points on the night, while Traore’s double-double came on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also had seven offensive boards, leading to several key second-chance points. “And he had three assists,” Shaw noted.
Shelley chipped in with 12 points, while Nick Whittick had four assists. Word also had two steals on the night.
Peter Simon’s 17 points led Fort Scott.
Allen shot 51% from the field and hit 10 of 21 3-pointers, while committing 18 turnovers.
Fort Scott (29-38—67) (FG/3pt): -Mouton 4/2-1-2-15, Bolton 3-0-3-6, Phelan 1-0-2-2, Coone 1/1-0-1-5, Simon 5/2-1-0-17, Howard 6-0-0-12, Brown 0-0-1-0, Perkins 3-1-2-7, Kenney 0/1-0-2-3. TOTALS: 23/6-3-13-67.
Allen (34-47—81) (FG/3pt): Jenks 1-0-1-2, Rollerson 0-2-1-2, Whittick 0-0-1-0, Word 10/2-4-1-30, Reynolds 1/1-0-0-5, Wright 1/2-0-0-8, Shelley 0/4-0-1-12, Thompson 0-0-1-0, Traore 8-3-1-19, Mahgoub 0/1-0-1-3. TOTALS: 21/10-9-8-81.
Advertisement
Advertisement
