The Allen Men's basketball team appeared to be in position to earn a solid home conference game over the Butler Grizzlies late in the second half, but the Red Devils would falter late and ended up losing 78-88. The first half saw both teams making runs as the Red Devils got off to an early lead, but midway through the 1st half the Grizzlies made a push and extended their lead to 10 points. After a timeout from the Red Devils came back quickly with a run of their own and regained the lead going into the halftime break 42-40.
In the second half, the Grizzlies and Red Devils went back and forth, but midway through the Red Devils went on a run as Trez Hankins connected on a 4 point play to give Allen a 6 point lead (67-61) with 7 minutes remaining. From there the Red Devils would only score 11 more points in the closing minutes, and Allen struggled to get defensive stops late in the game. #1 Juwan White made some huge baskets for the Grizzlies late in the game, as he went for 28 points on 11-20 shooting. Late in the game the Red Devils struggled on the offensive end, turning the basketball over several times in key moments.
Trez Hankins led the way in scoring for the Red Devils with 19 points on 5 of 7 shooting, and 3-5 from the 3 point line. Wesley Anderson Jr. had a solid game as he scored 17 points (9-14 from the free-throw line). Malik Hardmon scored 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Perry Carroll scored 12 points and had 4 assists.
This loss drops the Red Devils to 4-4 in KJCCC play, and moves the overall record to 12-5 on the season. Next up Allen will travel to nationally ranked Coffeyville on Saturday.