The Allen Men's Basketball team knocked off Neosho County for a third time this season in the semi-finals of the Region VI Tournament by a score of 86-79. The Panthers came out quickly in the first half and grabbed a lead, and Allen would have to try and stay within striking distance of Neosho. The Panthers would lead by as many as 8 miday through the first half, but Allen would keep its composure and slowly mounted their comeback. Allen too the lead late in the half, and the Red Devils went into the halftime break with a 4 point advantage at 34-30.
In the second half the two teams would trade baskets, as neither defense could come away with any stops. Neosho shot 49% from the floor for the night, and Allen shot 40% from the floor, but the Red Devils forced Neosho into 17 turnovers, and Allen only had 11 turnovers. Allen also dominated the glass as they outrebounded Neosho 52 to 36. These two categories came up big for Allen as they had to fight and claw their way to victory.
Late in the contest Allen held a 5 point lead at the free-throw line. Nick Whittick missed the second attempt from the charity stripe, but Ed Wright soared above Neosho and got the offensive put back to extend Allen's lead to 7 points with under a minute remaining. Neosho's #11 Kendural Jolly would go on to bank in a 3 point attempt to keep the Panthers in the contest. Allen would convert on free-throw late in the game, but Jolly would knock down a second consecutive 3 pointer to cut into the Allen lead. Fortunately Allen would take care of the basketball and knocked down free-throws to seal the win.
Ed Wright led all scorers with 25 points on 8 of 18 from the floor and 8-8 from the free-throw line. Cedric Rollerson had 15 points and 4 assists. Chris Dixon had a nice game with 14 points on 6 of 9 from the floor. Dixon also grabbed 8 rebounds. Tanner Meyer also reached double digits with 10 points as he connected on two big 3 pointers during the contest.
Allen is now 26-5 on the season. Allen will head to Salina, KS for the Region VI Championship on Saturday March 5th. Allen will take on #4 Johnson County at 2:00 pm at Tony's Pizza Event Center. The winner of this matchup will earn a trip to Danville, Illinois for the NJCAA National Tournament.