The Feb. 25 games marked the end of both the Allen Community College men’s and women’s basketball seasons as they competed in the first round of regional playoffs.

The loss to Colby Community College knocked the men’s team out of the playoffs and put their overall record at 16-15.

One of the team’s strengths this season that has set it apart from others was ability to score off fast-break transitions, Head Coach Andy Shaw explained. “We are a very quick team, which gives us the ability to get into position and score before the defense has time to set up,” he said. Shaw also commended his team’s press defense this year, which he said improved from previous seasons and allowed the Red Devils to cause many turnovers this year.

One thing that the team struggled with this season was rebounding. “ We are not a particularly big team so that is an aspect we fall short in sometimes,” Shaw noted.

The men’s team saw notable contributions from sophomores Jermaine Long and Darnell Jones-Bowie this season. Long was the second leading scorer in the conference and averaged 20 points a game. Bowie led the team as point guard, and as Shaw would describe, “is a tough player with the ability to drive to the basket well and who really elevated his role since last year.”

Shaw feels confident looking forward to next year’s recruiting class and returning players such as DaRon Mims, Quentin Blaue and E.J. Garnes, who will bring experience to next year’s team.

The Feb. 25 contest also marked the end to the women’s basketball team as it fell short to Butler Community College, ending its season at an overall record of 9-22. The Lady Red Devils finished 12th in the conference, which was an improvement to pre-season rankings that had them picked to finish last.

The game against Butler also marked the end of Head Coach Todd Buchanan’s first season at Allen. Buchanan faced many challenges in his first year this season that began with changing the culture and mindset of the program. Buchanan explained, “It takes time to build a program and fortunately I have a lot of time to do that,”

Sophomores that had notable contributions to the team this year included Haley Wilson, Josie Reilly and Ashley Washington. Wilson, a leader both on and off the court, as described by her coach, led the team in scoring followed by Washington.

Buchanan is excited for next year as he looks forward to a talented recruiting class and getting to the fast tempo and style of basketball that he is wanting to play.