No. 7 Allen pushes past No. 9 Riverfield
Feb. 22—QUINTON — Despite missing one of the top scorers in Class A in junior Garett Nix due to an injury early in the game, the seventh-ranked Allen Mustangs persevered and prevailed.
Coach Greg Mills club knocked off No. 9 Riverfield 58-31 to claim a Class A Regional Tournament championship Saturday night at Quinton High School.
Allen improved to 19-4 on the year and will now face No. 18 Liberty at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a Class A Area Tournament championship game with a state tournament berth on the line. Liberty enters that contest on a seven-game winning streak and has won 11 of its past 12 outings.
Mills said the Tigers will provide a great test for his team — with or without Nix in the starting lineup.
"They're pretty good and they're hot right now. They've beat some good people this year," Mill said Monday afternoon.
"They have some size. They have about three good shooters. They average about 6-3 in height," he said. "They're going to have a lot of size on us. We'll have to have another good game again but this time of year everyone has to have a good game."
The Mustangs have now won 13 of their last 15 contests.
"We're hot right now too. We're playing well. The kids are believing in themselves," Mills said.
In the girls Class A Regional Tournament consolation title game earlier Saturday, Keota upset No. 13 Allen 55-44. The Lady Mustangs ended a strong campaign at 18-6. The Lady Lions advanced with an impressive 19-3 mark.
BOYS
Allen 58, Riverfield 31
Nix suffered a lower back injury midway through the first quarter in the win over Riverfield.
"He went up to block a guy's shot and the guy went under and he got his legs. He landed right square — and I mean as hard as I've ever seen a guy land parallel — and landed flat on his back. He tried to get up and made it to about halfcourt and had to lay down," Mills explained. "And he's a tough little sucker."
When the Ada News spoke to Mills on Monday, Nix's status for Friday night was questionable.
Allen still raced out to a 14-4 lead after the first quarter but the Ravens hit five 3-pointers during a 16-8 run in the second period to close the gap to 22-20 at halftime.
The Mustangs took over in the second half. Allen outscored Riverfield 17-8 in the third quarter to build a 39-28 advantage and then held the Raves to just three free throws in the final frame in a 19-3 volley to end the game.
Brayden Tatum led the Allen offense with a game-high 25 points. He sank a pair of 3-pointers and went 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. Easton Ledo turned in a strong outing with 15 points — nine coming in the fourth period. He also sank a pair of 3-point shots. Coyt Bell also reached double figures with 10 points.
Keith Howard was next with six points for the Mustangs.
Braeden Clinton hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points to lead the Ravens. Kamden Snell hit one triple and scored eight points for Riverfield, while Davison Clinton was next with seven points and also hit a triple.
GIRLS
Keota 55, Allen 44
The Lady Mustangs fell behind by first-half counts of 10-6 and 24-19 and never could get over the hump. Keota outscored Allen 19-16 in the third quarter and 12-9 over the final eight minutes.
The locals also committed 20 turnovers and Keota scored 10 points off those miscues.
Senior Brooklyn Sanders scored a team-high 14 points in her final game for the Lady Mustangs. She also had six rebounds. Kaylee Davis hit three 3-pointers for all nine of her points. She pulled down eight boards and had three assists.
Macyee Davis followed with eight posits and sank two 3-point shots and Cherish Woodward chipped in six points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Meghann Buckner led Keota with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field (including three 3-point baskets). She netted a double-double with 16 rebounds and also had four steals and two blocked shots.
Allie Carry also hit double figures with 15 points and had six rebounds, four assists and seven steals.
