Red Devils stays alive in national tournament by beating Florida Gateway, 76-67

Next up, the consolation semifinals on Friday against Parkland, Ill.

March 17, 2022 - 9:16 AM

Allen Community College’s Zabriel Boozer goes to the rim against Florida Gateway Wednesday. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

DANVILLE, Ill. — Still feeling the sting from seeing their national title hopes dashed less than 24 hours earlier, Allen Community College head coach Andy Shaw hoped the Red Devils would respond favorably.

Because the NJCAA-Division II National Tournament is a double-elimination affair, teams such as Allen that dropped their opener still have something to play for.

That led to Wednesday’s consolation round matchup with Florida Gateway.

“Since it was the consolation bracket, I didn’t know what our mentality would be,” Shaw said.

The Red Devils quelled his concerns by doing what they do best: play tough-nosed defense in a 76-67 victory.

“I’m glad they chose that approach,” Shaw said. “They played hard and with toughness and wanted to win.”

Many Allen Community College students and faculty members made the trip to Danville to watch the Red Devils compete. Leslie Crane, the ACC women’s basketball coach, cheers them on. With her are her parents, Neil and Roberta Crane. Neil coached the men’s team in the 1970s and ’80s.

The win keeps Allen’s season alive at 28-6 and puts the Red Devils in Friday’s consolation semifinals in Danville’s Mary Miller Gymnasium.

The Red Devils will face the Parkland (Ill.), Cobras, who defeated the Scottsdale (Ariz.) Fighting Artichokes Thursday afternoon.

Allen slowly took control late in the first half. Tyren Shelley and Ed Wright II made 3-pointers a minute apart as the Red Devils took the lead for good, and Tanner Meyer completed a traditional 3-point play with 6 minutes left in the half to push ACC on top 22-17.

This team (Florida Gateway) is in the national tournament for a reason. We knew they’d make a run at some point. We responded pretty quickly.ACC coach Andy Shaw

Gateway’s Eric Canavan stemmed the tide briefly with a 3-point play to make it 22-20, but Allen responded with a 15-4 run over the next 4 1/2 minutes, capped by Wright’s jumper with 1:05 left to make it 37-24.

But the 16th-seeded Timberwolves bolted out of halftime on a mission, holding Allen scoreless for 4 minutes and slicing the lead to 37-35.

“We missed an open shot and they got to the rim a couple of times,” Shaw said. “This team’s in the national tournament for a reason. We knew they’d make a run at some point. We responded pretty quickly.”