DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team prevailed, 87-82, over Randall University in a play-in game for the fourth seed out of the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II Southwest Regional South Division. On Monday night, the fourth and fifth seeds on a coaches' selection battled it out to the final moments of the game.
Jairus Allen led the Crusaders with career-highs in points (30) and rebounds (15). The Marshall, Texas, native played 38 minutes and shot 12-for-23 from the field, made three treys, was 3-for-6 from the free throw line, and had four steals and five assists.
Jason Makayabo chipped in 17 points, while
Tilyr Hobson nearly captured a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Eight were offensive.
Allen's last two free throws in the game helped ice a 49-36 second half that helped erase an eight-point halftime deficit. DCC closed the game on a 19-10 run in the final 6:26 minutes of the game.
Tyjuan Battles drained a trey to cut the deficit to one (72-71) and
Jairus Allen hit the go-ahead layup after a steal to give the home team its first lead since a trifecta by Makayabo had made it 24-23 at 11:41 in the first half.
It was a short-lived lead as James Thomas made two free throws with 3:51 minutes remaining to flip the lead back to one.
The top two scorers in the game for the Crusaders took over, as
Jairus Allen swished a trifecta on the right side near the home team's bench on an assist from Battles. That sent DCC on top for good, as a missed shot by Randall led to Makayabo hitting a jumper to the left of the free throw line on a drive. The Saints made it a one-point game with a three-point play with just under two minutes by Malik Martin. With it 80-79, the go-to scorer in the second half in
Jairus Allen answered back as Battles found him for a layup inside. The guard finished his career-night with four of the final six DCC points and had 20 in the second half.
"It is a testimony of how hard we go in practice each and every single day,"
Jason Makayabo stated. "The focus we bring to practice every single day. Late game situations we train on in practice. Coach makes sure we stay focused."
Jairus Allen is familiar with postseason winning, as he was part of a four-time State Champion High School Team at Marshall Christian Academy.
"Our high school coach kept us focus year-after-year," Allen stated on his previous success at that level. "We win it one year, then everyone wants to get us. Just stay calm and stick to our training."
His brother
Joseph Allen, who also came up with a pair of clutch free throws late in the game, was able to experience one State Title himself. The 6-4 freshman matched his sibling for 38 minutes played and was able to gain eight points and seven rebounds. He matched a personal-best four blocks, which included a hard rejection that sent the ball over the midcourt line. Battles contributed nine points with all three field goals from the three-point line. He dished a team-high six assists.
The Saints shot a blistering 68 percent (17-25) from the floor in the first stanza and made 16 of their first 21 shots at one point, hovering over 70 percent throughout the opening frame. They were able to make six three-pointers while going 6-for-7 at the free throw line. Randall opened the largest lead by either team in the game at eight points with 23 seconds left and that was the margin at intermission.
What was keeping the Crusaders in the game was the offensive rebounds, which resulted in a 25-5 advantage at the end of the game. This included 13-of-21 boards in the first half being offensive. The Crusaders created a 24-2 edge in second chance points. They also used an 11-2 advantage on points off turnovers in the final 20 minutes for a 20-12 overall edge in that category.
"Just wanting it more," Allen explained. "They punched us in the mouth in the first half and we had to respond. We came back in the second half and wanted it more."
Both players added, "It has been like this all year long. We work on this at practice, we are up at 5 am doing practice and going over late game situations, so this is nothing new to us. Like I said earlier it is just a testimony."
This DCC team littered its schedule with 16 of the first 19 games against non-league opponents that were mostly NAIA, NCAA Division II, and even a couple NCAA Division I teams like Texas A&M University.
While the overall record may not compare successfully to other divisional teams in the region, the Crusaders can point to having won five such games in 11 attempts. They also have gone 4-6 at the friendly confines, with four wins coming in the month of February.
"It is amazing man, especially having the fan base that we do," Jason said…"All that energy matters because it translates onto the court."
DCC is on a three-game winning streak and played four games in the past week. The team has won six-of-eight games against NCCAA Division II Southwest Region Opponents.
Dallas Christian qualified for the NCCAA Division II Southwest Men's Basketball Tournament. The team enters as the eighth seed and has to play the top seed out of the North Division, which is Manhattan Christian. Tip-off is Wednesday around 5:30 p.m.
"One-game at a time. One possession at a time. We cannot get ahead of ourselves,"
Jairus Allen responded when asked what the key to focusing this weekend.
Some other stat notables in the game were a crucial trey by
Kyle-Jared Malarchar with his lone made field goal slicing the gap to 55-54 with under 14 minutes in the second. That was after DCC had worked to get the game to within four on a couple of occasions already and just had not found the necessary basket the get closer. Another reserve that had some key moments was
Jalen Perez with seven points. He essentially locked the victory up with two late free throws when
Jairus Allen wasn't scoring.
The Saints were led by Martin with 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting and 7-for-7 at the charity stripe. He added a team-high eight rebounds. Deion Mukes scored 21 points, and Boog Lewis had 10 assists.
Makayabo was on fire the past two outings versus Randall University, as he launched a 25-points and six treys with a team-high of that many assists in an away outing at Moore, Oklahoma.
"My teammates and my coach just trusting me game-in and game-out," Makayabo mentioned. Just telling me to keep shooting. Sometimes may not fall but to just trust my reps and let it fly. A testimony to my coach and teammates for trusting me and giving me that confidence."
"Dallas Christian educates and mentors students to be people of influence engaging in their calling to the work of Christ in the church and in the world."
