Lions Cage Boys & Girls at the Buzzer

BROOKLYN, NY - Brooklyn Collegiate versus Boys & Girls was the last Brooklyn AA game of the calendar year for both teams. The game was also a battle for first place for arguably the best league in the PSAL. The game lived up to expectations, going down to the last seconds. The game was tied at 60 and the clock was winding down when Tahron Allen ‘21 drove into the lane and hit a runner with one second left to give Brooklyn Collegiate a thrilling 62-60 win over Boys & Girls.

Allen didn’t score any points in the first quarter, but that was the only time the junior guard was quiet. He was a problem for Boys the rest of the game. Allen finished with a team high 23 points and the game winner. He was calm and collected the last possession and he wasn’t giving the ball up to anyone. He made the play that gave Brooklyn Collegiate the victory.

Brooklyn Collegiate coach Malcolm Conner said his team was prepared to win the close game because of prior experience. He was confident that his team knew what to do.

“It was reminiscent of the last game we played at Lincoln... the guys have been in that before, so they knew how to handle the situation. So, they didn’t get rattled, so I knew we were going to pull it out” Conner said after the game.

Brooklyn Collegiate was leading 50-42 going into the 4th quarter, but Boys came out on fire and started the period with a 10-0 run to take their first lead since the first quarter. The charge was led by Kangaroo guards Khalil Brantley ‘22 and Aubrey Nicholson ‘21. Nicholson started the run with 3 straight lay-ups and Brantley ended the run with 2 free throws.

All the momentum was pointing towards Boys in a game that Brooklyn Collegiate had mostly controlled through the first three quarters. The scoring outburst in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter forced Conner to call two timeouts to settle his team down. After the game Conner said his message to the team during those moments was to remain composed.

After the free throws by Brantley, BC finally got back on track with a corner pocket three from Ahmarie Simpkins ‘20 (11 points). For the next couple of minutes, both teams traded baskets, including one where BC guard Jaylin Anderson ‘20 (14 points) took two Boys defenders to school with a tough reverse layup. BC called another timeout with 2:58 left in the game after Nicholson (16 points) made a spinning baseline lay-up to put Boys ahead 56-55.

That was answered by BC players splitting free throws over the next couple of minutes, only making 3 out of 6 attempts. After a free throw by Brantley, the stage was set for a thrilling ending. Jalen Lyn ‘23, who Conner said stepped up in a game where there were an incredible number of fouls, made a huge play. The freshman guard was in the game because senior point guard Majesty Johnson ‘20 had fouled out way earlier. Lyn penetrated down the right side of the lane and then whipped a perfect pass across the box to a cutting Jahmere Tripp ‘22 for an easy bucket and gave BC a 60-57 lead.

That was when Brantley showed he has no conscience. The talented sophomore guard, who was relentless and in attack mode the entire game, came down the court and hit a pull-up triple to tie the game. Brantley scored 36 points in the game, carrying his team offensively.

Of course, it wasn’t enough for Boys, because that’s when Allen made the most important play of the game, hitting the runner to give Brooklyn Collegiate the win and a 7-0 record in Brooklyn AA. They are in the driver’s seat in the league right now and are legitimate contenders for the chip this season.