Still winless in KJCCC play, the Labette Cardinals men fell to the Allen Red Devils, 81-67, on Wednesday night at home.
Labette led for much of the first half before allowing Allen to blow the game open in the second stanza.
“We’re very inconsistent with our attacks,” Labette head coach Jermaine Maybank said. “We’re bad at reading defenses and making adjustments on the fly. We have a lot of work to do in a little time. Against good teams, it doesn’t work. So we have to get back to the lab.”
Labette’s ball security was problematic with the Cardinals committing 17 turnovers — Allen was limited to six.
“We struggle against pressure,” Maybank said. “We’re not adjusting very well. We have to be better against it. That’s the only way to win games in this conference. We did well in the first half. It was just inconsistent.”
Joshua Thornton led Labette with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench.
“He played like a sophomore,” Maybank said. “He’s an undersized big for us, which limits his opportunities. We have to put him in a position to be effective. Him on the low block is a matchup we want to go to more. That’s his sweet spot.”
All of Allen’s starters reached double figures with Logan Shockley notching 17 points.
Allen improved to 14-9 overall and 5-3 in KJCCC play while Labette fell to 9-16 and 0-8, respectively.
Up next
Labette hosts undefeated Johnson County on Saturday.
“They’re a well-oiled machine that does all the little things right,” Maybank said. “That’s how you win in college basketball — diving for loose balls, coming off screens with the right footwork, being ready to shoot. It’ll take a lot for us to stay in the game. But I’ll never count out the guys I’m coaching.”
