Justin Allen has had these types of games before, but most of them have been at the NCAA Division III level.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay senior guard helped lead the Phoenix to a commanding 76-59 win over Purdue Fort Wayne in front of 2,531 at the Kress Center on Feb. 12 in what might have been the best game it has played in two seasons of the Doug Gottlieb era.
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That it came on national television on ESPN2 was even better.
“How big is it? It’s gigantic,” Gottlieb said. “It’s national TV. It’s 2,500 and change coming in. Last year, everyone wanted to kick us when we were down. Well, guess what? I’m not a goldfish. I have a long memory.
“I remember that two of the guys on (PFW) were in the portal and one told me how much he was making and said I had to double it to come to Green Bay. Another one just wouldn’t even call me back. … Things can change year to year, but that’s how we were viewed in this league.”
UWGB senior guard Justin Allen is averaging 12.9 points this season. He scored 34 in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Feb. 12.
Justin Allen shines against Purdue Fort Wayne
The 6-foot-4 Allen finished with a DI career-high 34 points on 13-for-20 shooting, and while it wasn’t the 50 he had last season when he broke Carnegie Mellon’s single-game scoring record in a game against Dickinson, there were times it looked much the same.
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“Yeah, for sure,” Allen said. “I think just kind of getting into that zone, trusting myself, knowing my teammates and coaches are trusting me and having that confidence.
“It was great, especially coming off a few games where I didn’t feel I played my best. Just kind of getting back into that rhythm and knowing my teammates and coaches still trust me, it was a good feeling.”
Allen scored 20 points in the first half, capping it with a 3-point play after he was fouled on a basket with 0.6 seconds remaining.
He almost outscored PFW by himself after UWGB entered the break leading 42-23 thanks in part to forcing nine turnovers and scoring 18 points off them.
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But in perhaps a small sign that the Phoenix is focused on getting better even when things are going well, assistant coach Kerry Rupp approached Allen at the buzzer to speak with him.
It wasn’t about those 20 points.
“He was talking about aiming my free throws,” Allen said. “He was saying how I was pausing on my free throws.”
Allen’s best offensive game of his one and only season with the Phoenix came right on the heels of his worst offensive one after he was held to a season-low 2 points and shot 0-for-4 in just 15 minutes against Detroit on Feb. 7 at the Resch Center.
It was the fewest minutes he had played since the 12 at Campbell on Dec. 23, which also was the last time he came off the bench before breaking into the starting lineup in the first game against PFW on New Year’s Day.
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It’s a good thing he has a short memory.
“For sure, I feel like that’s a big thing in basketball,” Allen said. “We make mistakes, watch film, learn from it. But you have to always try to keep your confidence up and kind of flush those mistakes, flush those bad games and get onto the next one.”
UWGB again gets early lead against PFW
The Phoenix (15-12) jumped out to almost the exact same start it did against the Mastodons (14-12) in the first meeting.
It scored the first 15 points of that game and scored the first 13 in this one, again leading wire-to-wire.
But while PFW fought back to within four points in the second half of the first game, UWGB never let it happen in the rematch.
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The Phoenix led by double figures the entire second half and by as many as 22 with 10 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.
UWGB shot 58.1% (25-for-43) and outscored PFW 42-28 in the paint.
Junior forward Marcus Hall had 15 points and sophomore guard C.J. O’Hara added 14 to go with Allen’s big night.
“I would have thought they would come out in the second half and punch us,” Gottlieb said. “I will credit our guys. (PFW) hit some shots to start the second half, they changed something based on our coverage. Max Nelson hit a 3 to start the second half, and I’m sure there are lots of people like, ‘Uh-oh, here we go again.’
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“We ran good offense and we got a wide-open layup. They hit another shot, and we ran good offense and got another wide-open layup. I mean, we hit three jump shots all day. Three. But we moved it, we spaced them, we played to their tendencies defensively.”
UWGB stays in contention in the Horizon League
Every win is important at this point of the season, but it was even bigger considering UWGB plays three of its final four games on the road beginning with a contest at in-state rival UW-Milwaukee on Feb. 15.
UWGB remained in third place in the Horizon League at 10-6 while dropping PFW to 8-7.
The Phoenix still needs plenty of luck to win the regular-season championship, but the two teams ahead of it both lost on the night that it beat the Mastodons.
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Wright State lost at home to Detroit, while Youngstown State beat Oakland.
The Raiders remain in first place at 11-4, while the Golden Grizzlies are 10-5.
UWGB went 0-2 against Wright State this season and is 0-1 against Oakland.
The Phoenix and Golden Grizzlies meet again Feb. 20 in Rochester, Michigan.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Justin Allen’s big night leads UWGB men’s basketball to win vs. PFW
