LEXINGTON — The Minutemen won in spite of themselves.
Seven Allen scored a game-high 21 points and Lexington survived a dreadful shooting performance from the free throw line in a 74-70 Ohio Cardinal Conference win over Mansfield Senior on Friday nigh.
The Minutemen (5-1, 3-1) connected on just 21-of-41 free throws, much to coach Scott Hamilton’s dismay.
“We’re 70 percent (from the stripe) in practice, but it does absolutely nothing for us in games,” an exasperated Hamilton said of his team’s free-throw-shooting woes. “On the season we’re probably about 42 percent.
“But we hit them in practice, I promise you that.”
A junior sharpshooter, Allen was the notable exception. He sank 11-of-14 freebies, including 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter.
“We work on our free throws every day in practice, so it’s like second nature for me,” Allen said.
Allen split a pair of free throws with just 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Minutemen a 70-60 lead. Mansfield Senior (5-1, 3-1) responded with an 8-0 run to cut Lex’s lead to 70-68 on a pair of D’Vontae Johnson free throws with 46 seconds remaining.
“I saw a lot of fight. We didn’t give at all,” Senior High coach Marquis Sykes said. “We actually gave ourselves an opportunity at the end of the game.
“A play here and a play there and we could be feeling a lot differently right now.”
A layup by Joe Caudill gave Lexington a 72-68 lead with 38 seconds to play. Senior High turned the ball over and the Minutemen pushed the advantage to 74-68 when Gavin Husty and Jakob Legron each split a pair of free throws with less than 30 seconds remaining.
Husty backed Allen with 19 points. Caudill added 14, while Legron chipped in with 10.
Kyevi Roane paced Senior High with 20 points. Johnson and Rashad Reed each had a dozen, while Andrew Brooks added 11 despite battling foul trouble much of the evening.
Senior High connected on just 4-of-14 3-pointers and had just five assists on 25 field goals.
“We knew it was going to take some hard lessons in order for us to get better,” Sykes said. “A lot of times winning covers up a lot of mistakes and you don’t necessarily listen as much as you should listen when you’re winning.
“Tonight was a good eye-opener.”