The Allen Red Devils and the Fort Scott Greyhounds squared off in a big matchup Wednesday evening in Iola. Coming into the contest Allen held a 1 game lead in the conference standings and Fort Scott was just a couple games back in 3rd place. The contest was very ugly for the majority of the night as both teams struggled from the floor and a lot of foul calls both ways. Midway through the first half Allen was able to string together a lot of defensive stops and pushed their lead up to double digits. The Greyhounds would cut the lead down to just 6 points at the break 32-26.
Allen and Fort Scott would continue the battle in the second half, and Fort Scott was able to get out in transition several times for some easy baskets. The Greyhounds had all of the momentum and tied the game up at 44-44. The Red Devils would respond with a 5-0 run of their own to regain the lead. Late in the game Nick Whittick nailed a top of the key 3-pointer to extend the Red Devil lead up to 9 points. It appeared as though Allen was going to easily closeout the game in the final few minutes, but the Greyhounds would force Allen into 4 consecutive turnovers. Fort Scott was able to capitalize on the Allen miscues and cut the lead down to just 4 points with a minute remaining.
Fortunately Allen would close the game out and came away with a 10 point victory 75-65. Allen finished with 4 players in double figures. Tanner Meyer led all scorers with 21 points on 3 of 7 from the 3-point line. Ahmed Mahgoube and Nick Whittick each scored 13 points. Mahgoub posted a big double-double with 17 rebounds. Chis Dixon finished with 11 points.
Allen is now 21-7 overall on the season and 10-2 in KJCCC standings. Allen is once again receiving votes to be ranked in the latest NJCAA polls. Allen will travel to KCK on Saturday for a 3:00 pm tipoff vs the Blue Devils. KCK handed Allen their first conference loss earlier in the season.