The Allen men's basketball team moved to 3-0 in Conference play, and pushed their win streak to 7 games as they defeated Seward County 78-75 on Wednesday in Liberal, KS. In the first half Allen struggled on the offensive end as they were faced with one of the top defenses in the conference. Seward was relentless on the defensive end and forced Allen into sloppy turnovers. Near the end of the first half Seward held a 13 point lead with 3:00 remaining. Allen would go on a big run to cut the deficit to 4 at the intermission (33-37).
Early in the second half the Saints would gain the momentum back as they pushed their lead up to double digits again. Allen would stay the course and battle to keep the game close. Near the 5 minute mark the Red Devils took their first lead of the game. The teams would go back and forth in the final few minutes as both teams struggled to get defensive stops. With about a minute and a half remaining Allen got 3 straight offensive rebounds which turned into free throws to keep the lead. Joel Boyce got a steal and breakaway dunk to push the lead to 3 with under a minute to go.
With 10 seconds remaining Seward fouled Trez Hankins as Allen held a 2 point lead. Hankins would make the first free throw to push the lead back to 3, but he missed the last free throw. Seward pushed quickly and hoisted a deep three at the buzzer. The shot looked good, but fortunately for the Red Devils it hit back rim and the Red Devils escapes with a 78-75 win.
The Red Devils were led in scoring by Joel Boyce with 21 points. Boyce also grabbed 7 rebounds. Trez Hankins scored 17 points and Malik Hardmon scored 10 points. Tyus Jeffries finished the game with 9 and made several key shots down the stretch.
This win moves Allen to 8-4 overall, and 3-0 in KJCCC play. Next up Allen will finish the semester with home games against Colby and Dodge City this Saturday and Wednesday.