Allen, Eagles rally in fourth quarter to edge Malta Bend

MALTA BEND - Junior guard Joseph Allen connected for a game-high 12 points and the Missouri School for the Deaf Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to slip past the Malta Bend Tigers 38-35 on Thursday night.

Allen also came up with seven steals and seven rebounds for MSD (3-3), which wiped out a 28-21 deficit by outscoring Malta Bend 17-7 over the final 8 minutes.

"The kids were getting comfortable putting up long shots," Eagles head coach Dick Keller said of the decisive fourth quarter. "We were more patient with the ball; we were tossing it in(side) and then tossing it back out, and the shots were just dropping."

Senior forward Benson Goodwin also registered 11 points and seven rebounds for MSD.

The Eagles trailed 22-14 at the break, but switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense in the second half to limit the Tigers to 13 points.

"(Malta Bend) was just getting inside with good shots and good looks (in the first half), but we toughened up on defense," Keller said.

Tyler Jenks and Len Miller logged 10 points apiece for the Tigers.

MSD plays Illinois School for the Deaf for homecoming on Saturday, Jan. 10, starting with the girls' contest at 5:30 p.m.