For the first half Friday, Allen Community College was giving Connors State everything the visitors wanted.
The teams battled back-and-forth in a frenetic slug-fest, before the visiting Cowboys took the lead with an 11-2 run midway through the first half.
The Red Devils were resilient through the rest of the half, and a 3-point play from Allen’s Malachi Schilreff just after intermission cut Connors State’s lead to 37-36.
But things went south in a hurry from there.
Connors State rattled off an 11-1 run in a 2-minute span as Allen’s shots stopped falling and the Cowboys started racking up rebounds.
The Red Devil offense never found its gear after that, in a 74-56 loss.
Tuesday’s showdown was the fifth against an NJCAA-Division I school for the Red Devils, who will face another tough test Saturday when they travel to Enid, Okla., to battle Northern Oklahoma College.
Red Devil head coach Patrick Nee noted his team’s improved play before Tuesday came because Allen had been able to knock down its outside shots.
But against Connors State, ACC was an ice-cold 3 of 23 from downtown
“We’ve played five teams better than anyone in our conference. If we don’t make 3’s, it’s really hard to win right now,” he said. “We’re getting killed on the glass.”
Connors State held a 58 to 36 rebound margin.
“We will get there when Tyler (Pinder) comes back,” Nee said of his star guard, who is expected to return from injury, perhaps by Thanksgiving. “We will just keep trying to get better.”
Schildreff went a perfect 7 of 7 from the line to lead Allen with 21 points. Javontae Costner added 11 points and three steals. Tynell Stevenson came off the bench to score 12 points. Mike Smith added six points, five boards, three assists and three steals.
Dashun Spence led four Connors state players in double figures with 18 points. Kevin Stubblefield Jr. added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Connors St. (35-39—74)
