Allen brothers make Centennial threat in playoffs

The ball bounced off the rim, and Malcolm Allen thought he might have a chance at the rebound. So the senior guard for the Centennial boys basketball team started his run-up and soared toward the basket.

That’s when he saw 7-footer Stephen Zimmerman of Bishop Gorman swooping in.

“I figured I’m not going to come down with it,” the 6-foot-1-inch Allen said, “so I just tried to go up and dunk it.”

The result was a rim-rattling put-back jam late in the third quarter of Thursday’s regular-season finale, a play that had the entire gymnasium at Gorman — including the Gaels’ notoriously fickle student section — buzzing.

And it came from the less heralded of the Allen twins.

“I was thoroughly shocked,” Marcus Allen said.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Centennial coach Todd Allen, no relation. “I’ve had four or five people say they haven’t seen anything like it.”

Led by their high-flying, Stanford-bound standouts, the Bulldogs (19-8) earned the Southwest League’s No. 2 seed and have a legitimate shot at reaching next week’s Division I state tournament.

Centennial hosts Durango (14-10), the No. 3 seed from the Northwest, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the Sunset Region playoffs.

“It’s been a great season so far. I love my team,” Marcus Allen said. “Now that it’s playoff time ... we’re going to try to make a run. I think we have the potential to be very good in the postseason.”

The twins’ development is the primary reason. After helping the Bulldogs go 47-9 and advance to the region semifinals each of the past two seasons, the Allens took another step forward this season.

“They’re a tough cover for us,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said after his team escaped with a 79-71 double-overtime win over the Bulldogs on Thursday. “They’re special players. They’re up there with all the great players from Vegas since I’ve been around.”

The 6-3 Marcus, a first-team all-state pick as a junior, is No. 2 in the area in scoring at 28.3 points per game. Malcolm, the older of the twins by two minutes and known more as a facilitator, is third at 22.9.

They credit their work at Impact Basketball Academy and with the Compton Magic AAU program for their improvement.

“To have two kids who are so dedicated and only care about winning is a good thing for Centennial,” Todd Allen said. “They’ve really turned the whole culture of our program around.”

Marcus Allen is ranked the No. 136 player in the country by Rivals.com. He signed with Stanford in November. Malcolm Allen said he will do the same during the spring signing period.

The Allens, who are fraternal twins, will be the latest set of twins to play basketball for the Cardinal. Jarron and Jason Collins played from 1997 to 2001 and were reserves on the Final Four team in 1998. Brook and Robin Lopez starred on The Farm from 2006 to 2008 before leaving for the NBA after their sophomore seasons.

“They have a good history of twins, so we figured, why not give it a shot?” Malcolm Allen said. “All our life we wanted to go to Stanford, to attend the same school together. It’s kind of a dream come true.”

Todd Allen believes the twins could blossom into defensive stoppers for the Cardinal due to their athleticism.

But before they head to Northern California, the Allens want one more shot at No. 1-ranked Gorman.

Centennial lost twice to the Gaels during the regular season, and both teams would need to reach Friday’s region final to meet again.

“That’s the goal, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time, one team at a time,” Marcus Allen said. “We can’t look too far ahead, but (facing Gorman) is definitely in the back of our mind.”