Allen, BBCHS hold off Lincoln-Way East in home finale

BRADLEY – Bradley-Bourbonnais boys basketball phenom Nick Allen has had plenty of stellar performances in his home at Donald K. Turner Gymnasium, but in his 39th and final performance on his home court, Allen put together one of his most memorable performances.

The 6-foot-11 Allen went to work early and often, compiling his 16th double-double of the season with 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Boilermakers past Lincoln-Way East by a 72-59 final.

It was the sixth win in a row for the Boilers, who improved to 18-7 as the Griffins slipped to 16-9, with both teams now 9-4 in the SouthWest Suburban Conference.

Before the game, Allen was honored for passing Micah Bradford for first on the school’s all-time scoring list, now sitting at 1,505 career points. And after it, he felt the sudden burst of emotion after he walked off the Turner Gymnasium court for the final time.

“I started to get a little emotional as I went to the locker room,” Allen said. “It’s a special place. I can’t believe it’s the last game.”

The future Illinois State Redbird got hot early, recording nine points, seven boards and three of his game-high five blocks in the opening frame. The Boilers saw their 19-15 first-quarter lead swell to 39-26 by the half thanks to a 9-0 run in the second quarter, but the Griffins countered heavily in the third, which included a 9-0 run of their own.

They forced a handful of Boiler turnovers in the quarter, mostly out of their full-court man-to-man defense, and saw Landon Johnson score 10 of his 13 points – second on the team to Brendan Sanders' 15 – in the same frame to pull to within eight at 54-46.

“I’m proud of our effort there in the third quarter to not lay down against a very good team,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rich Kolimas said. “Our defensive pressure picked up a bit, we knocked down some shots and made it a ball game.”

But after cutting it to as close as six points early in the fourth, Boilers junior Tez Smith hit back-to-back 3-pointers to immediately put the hosts back up by double digits, this time for good.

While the four-year Boiler Allen was the star of the show, especially with highlight-reel plays like the gigantic offensive rebound he flushed back with authority in one fell swoop in the third, he wasn’t the only Boilers senior to step up.

Gavin Kohl turned in a 14-point, six-rebound, five-assist effort, something head coach Ryan Kemp has grown accustomed to seeing from the guard over the past three years. But Kemp was pleasantly surprised when another three-year player, Timmy Pfrommer, put together his most spectacular game of the year.

Pfrommer tallied 16 points on a 7-for-8 night from the field to go along with three rebounds and a pair of dimes.

“Huge compliment to Timmy Pfrommer on a big night after he hadn’t really started in a while,” Kemp said. “Defensively he was great, he had a couple big rebounds, every shot he took in the paint went in and he hit a couple 3s, so huge minutes for him.”

The Boilers get a bit of a break before they begin a three-game road stretch to end the regular season at Lincoln-Way Central at 6:30 p.m. next Friday. The Griffins are back in action when they visit Bloom in nonconference action at 6:30 p.m. Monday.