Allen leads Patriots by Hawks

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HERMON – Jordan Allen understands the strength of the Penquis of Milo boys basketball team is its defense.

But he also knows the onus is on him to supply much of the Patriots’ offense.

When that need arose Tuesday night at the Hermon High School gym, the senior forward responded with 17 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute left as Class C Penquis outlasted the Class B Hawks 35-33.

In a game in which the teams scored a combined 21 points after intermission, Penquis forged a 30-30 tie when sophomore guard Nathan Allen – Jordan’s brother – scored on a drive with 4:12 to play.

Neither team scored for the next three minutes, until Jordan Allen hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a set play to give the Patriots their first lead since the opening moment of the second quarter.

“It’s a special play they run for me,” said Jordan Allen, who also had seven rebounds and four steals. “They set a screen and I run around it and shoot. Luckily the screen was good and I was able to make the shot.”

Jordan Allen then forced a Hermon turnover on the defensive end, and Justin Morrill and Ian Carey each hit 1 of 2 from the line to give Penquis a five-point cushion before Hermon – which scored just four points in the first 15:59 of the second half – got a 3-pointer at the buzzer from junior guard Ryan Tarr.

“We missed a lot of foul shots and a lot of layups,” said Penquis coach Tony Hamlin, “but I give the kids credit for hanging in there. They just kept pounding on the door and pounding on the door, and Jordan stepped up and made a huge ‘3.’ That was really the difference.”

Penquis trailed 26-21 at intermission, but used its scrambling man-to-man and trapping zone defenses to force 12 Hermon turnovers after the break while the Hawks shot just 3 of 22 from the field.

“Coach Hamlin made sure we got down on defense,” said Jordan Allen. “He had to get in our grille like usual, but we had the extra effort when we needed it.”

Penquis (5-1) survived despite playing without senior guard Drew Hamlin, who missed his second straight game due to a knee injury.

But the Patriots – coming off a double-overtime loss to Piscataquis of Guilford just before Christmas – got seven points and three blocked shots from senior forward Devin Perkins and solid perimeter play from Nathan Allen and Morrill in support of Jordan Allen’s heroics.

“To get a win on the road against a Class B school, that’s really all we were looking to do,” said Hamlin.

Forward Chris Harding paced 2-2 Hermon with 11 points, all in the first half. Tarr finished with nine points, while Ben Adams added seven points and nine rebounds.

“[Penquis] played excellent defense, which they always do,” said Hermon coach Alan Tweedie, “but we’ve just got to have people step up and make a basket. We didn’t have that tonight, and they had somebody hit the shot when they needed it.”

PATRIOTS 35, HAWKS 33

Penquis (5-1) Hermon (2-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

J. Allen 8 18 0 1 17 Hinton 0 0 0

Andrews 1 2 1 2 3 Johnson 1 5 2

Creighton 0 0 0 0 0 Adams 3 8 7

Perkins 3 9 1 5 7 R. Tarr 4 10 9

Salley 0 0 0 0 0 Pellerin 0 0

Carey 1 4 1 2 3 Hurd 0 1 0

Morrill 1 4 1 2 3 Kane 1 4 2

A.Zwicker 0 1 0 0 0 T.Deabay 1 2

N. Allen 1 2 0 0 2 Harding 4 8 11

Stevens 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 15 40 4 12 35 Totals 14 46 33

Penquis 12 21 26 35

Hermon 9 26 28 33

3-pt. goals – Penquis (1-5): J. Allen 1-4, A. Zwicker 0-1; Hermon (2-9): Harding 1-2, R. Tarr 1-3, Pellerin 0-1, Kane 0-1, Johnson 0-2

JV: Hermon 65-31

Attendance: 300 (est.)