Eagles, Allen slide into driver's seat

By JOE SMITH
Published January 23, 2008

BRANDON - There are few bay area players on a bigger roll than Brandon senior guard Blake Allen.

Allen, a 6-foot sharpshooter, entered Tuesday's district showdown with Armwood coming off a career-high eight 3-pointers and 41 points Friday in a win over King.

Against the Hawks, Allen nearly repeated the feat.

Allen racked up 30 points on five 3s as the Eagles thumped Armwood 79-63 to take control of Class 5A, District 9; Brandon (14-4, 10-2) is up two games with two to go.

"If (Allen) is not one of the top two or three guards in the county - I don't know," Brandon coach Mark Hermann said. "He's a great shooter."

Allen, along with fellow guard Tarron Stewart (15 points) are two big reasons Brandon has won five of its last six without Boston College-bound forward Evan Ravenel, who is expected to return Friday against Freedom from a three-week FHSAA suspension.

Allen said the Eagles used last week's 66-40 loss to Wharton as a "huge wakeup call." Brandon had beaten Armwood by 30 in an earlier meeting, but the much-improved Hawks (12-7, 8-4) took a six-point first-quarter lead Tuesday by slowing the pace and getting big shots from Rashad Davis (15 points on five 3s) and senior Adam Sollazzo (17).

But the Eagles picked up the tempo and Allen scored seven straight points in the second quarter to help extend Brandon's lead to nine. He sank 3-pointers. He drove baseline. He blocked shots.

In the fourth quarter, he hit back-to-back 3-pointers to break the game open, pumping his chest to the crowd.

"We couldn't stop him," Armwood coach Jeff Pafunda said. "We tried everything."

[Last modified January 23, 2008, 01:30:24]