On Tuesday night the Allen Men's Basketball team got their 8th win of the season in a back and forth, ugly basketball game. The Red Devils survived by the final score of 72-67. In the early going of the first half, things looked promising for Allen as they quickly jumped out to a lead. Allen was able to attack the matchup zone defense of KCK and finished well around the rim. The Red Devils led by as many as 10 in the first half. Midway through the half, things changed and Allen was stumped by the Blue Devil Zone. KCK crept back into the game and narrowed the Red Devil lead to just 6 points at the break (35-29).
Again in the second half, Allen came out with better energy than their opponent and quickly extended their halftime lead to 17 points with around 14 minutes left in the contest. From there it was all KCK. The Blue Devils went on a huge run and actually briefly held a 2 point lead with 5 minutes to play. Perry Carroll made a big corner 3 to regain the lead for Allen, and luckily from there the Red Devils were able to hang on to the win. Last week Allen defeated KCK on the road by 20 points, but KCK had a different energy about them and fought the Red Devils the whole way.
Allen won despite their worst offensive output of the season. The Red Devils shot just 33.9% to KCK's 51% for the game. Allen was able to out-rebound KCK 38-34, and Allen grabbed 17 offensive rebounds which ended up being a huge factor in holding on for the win. Perry Carroll led the way in scoring for Allen with 21 points on 4-13 shooting. Carroll went 10-13 from the free throw line and also dished out 4 assists. Malik Hardmon was the only other Red Devil in double digits with 15 points on 7-11 shooting, and Hardmon also grabbed 7 rebounds. Trez Hankins scored 9 points, and Jamaal Clifton and Wesley Anderson Jr. scored 8 each.
This win moves the Red Devils to 8-1 on the season. Next Wednesday Allen will host Pratt for the first game KJCCC play.