Every student-athlete dreams of being hailed as a hero.
After the events of Wednesday night, the tight-knit town of Holbrook will always remember the name Allen Brown Jr. The senior guard turned in a performance for the ages, erupting for 46 points as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (22-2) punched a ticket to their first-ever state championship appearance with a thrilling 68-65 victory over No. 7 Prospect Hill in the Div. 5 semifinals.
“It just feels great,” Brown said. “Coming in, we knew Holbrook hasn’t had (a championship) the whole time, so we just came in with a bunch of effort and intensity. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Throughout the game, the intensity picked up, so I just knew I had to take the game over.”
Isaiah Richmond helped Prospect Hill (20-4) throw the initial punch at UMass Boston, scoring six points in the frame. Meanwhile, Micah Crawford added five points to provide the Wizards a 15-13 lead through one.
Brown began to heat up in the ensuing stanza. The senior guard proved why he’s one of the top scoring threats in Holbrook history, as he erupted for 18 points in the second quarter. He fueled the Bulldogs during a game-changing 19-5 run to give his team a 32-22 lead with 1:54 to play in the half.
“In the second quarter, I put my foot on the gas,” said Brown. “We didn’t let up.”
Prospect Hill chipped away in the waning moments of the second quarter, as Lucian Grant beat the buzzer with a layup to trim the Wizards’ deficit to 33-28 at the break.
The Wizards opted to switch to a full-court press early in the third quarter, and it paid off as they staged a quick 8-2 run. Suddenly, Prospect Hill had jumped back in front, 36-35, with 5:44 left in the stanza.
Yet, Holbrook found a way to answer. In the closing seconds of the third, Odens Massillon came away with a steal, then fed a pass to Brown for a layup as the Bulldogs constructed a slim 45-41 lead entering the final quarter.
“We work on these situations,” Holbrook coach Rich Gifford said. “No matter what everyone throws at us, we have something for it. This is my, and I hate to admit I’m getting old, but this is my 47th year coaching. We work at it. We put a lot of work in at practice, and we were ready for anything that anybody had to throw at us.”
From that moment on, the Bulldogs and the Wizards exchanged haymakers until the final minute. Brown hit a contested layup on one end, before sinking a wild shot of his own on the opposite end, making it a 60-59 game in favor of Holbrook with 3:26 to play.
Then, Brown scored six of the Bulldogs’ final eight points, as they held on in a nail-biter. Massillon added a double-double for Holbrook, finishing with 13 points to go with 13 rebounds in the victory.
Richmond drained 26 points to pace Prospect Hill, while Crawford finished with 19 points.
The win marks the furthest that Holbrook has ever made it in a state tournament. Originally, its best finish came back in 2023, when the Bulldogs faltered in the Div. 5 Final Four.
“We’ve been like that all year,” said Gifford. “We’re just tough mentally. You like that. Allen just has that will to win. He’s obviously one of my all-time favorite players to coach.”