Allen Wins Over #5 Johnson

Allen Wins Over #5 Johnson

The Allen Men's Basketball team earned at least a share of the KJCCC D2 Championship with a 75-71 victory over the #5 ranked Johnson County Cavaliers. This win puts Allen in sole possession of first place with one more game at Johnson County on Thursday evening. If Allen wins at Johnson the Red Devils will be outright conference champs, if Johnson wins then the Red Devils and Cavaliers would be Co-Champs, however Allen has locked up the overall #1 seed in the Region VI Tournament.

The Red Devils got off to a slow start, as the Cavaliers came out knocking down several perimeter jump shots to grab an early lead. Allen had to fight to keep the game within reach as Johnson County stretched the lead to double digits midway through the half. The Red Devils would end the half on a big run and closed the Johnson lead to just two points at 34-36.

Allen would strike quickly in the second half and once the Red Devils grabbed the lead they wouldn't give it back for the remainder of the contest. In the second half the Red Devil defense was much better, but the Cavaliers were able to get several key offensive rebounds for second chance points which kept Johnson within striking distance. The Cavaliers would finish the game with 21 offensive rebounds.

In the final minutes Zabriel Boozer got a steal in the backcourt and converted at the rim to give Allen a 4 point advantage. In the final minute Allen would stretch lead out to 10 points after a technical foul on Johnson County. Ed Wright would sink all 4 free-throws. The Cavaliers would keep the final minute interesting as #10 Desi Williams connected on back to back deep three point attempts, and Allen had a few turnovers for easy points in the final minute as well.

Ed Wright led all scorers with 25 points. Wright connected on 11-12 free-throw attempts. Zabriel Boozer finished with a big double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Boozer also had 3 steals and a block.

This is the first KJCCC Conference Championship since 1989 for the Allen Men's Basketball team.