Bullish on the Bulldogs: Led by Makai Allen, Provo off to a promising start to the season
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- Provo Guard Makai Allen scored a team-high 35 points in Provo’s win on Tuesday. December 9, 2025
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- Provo guard Gehrig Orchard weaves his way through traffic during his team’s 76-61 win over American Heritage. December 9, 2025
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- Provo forward Callen Tollestrup drives through traffic during his team’s 76-61 win over American Heritage. December 9, 2025
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- Provo Coach Chris Collinsworth instructs his team during a timeout in Tuesday’s win over American Heritage. December 9, 2025
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- Provo’s Callen Tollestrup scored 13 points for the Bulldogs in a 76-61 win over American Heritage. December 9, 2025
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- Provo guard Makai Allen did it all for his team during a 76-61 win over American Heritage on Tuesday. December 9, 2025
After a bit of a rough start to the season, the Provo Boys Basketball team seems to be hitting its stride and won a fourth straight game on Tuesday when defeating visiting American Heritage 76-61.
The Bulldogs received contributions from several players, but standing out considerably was senior guard Makai Allen, who scored a team-high 35 points while providing the type of game that has become typical for the senior guard.
“Makai is awesome and he’s as good of a kid as he is a basketball player,” said Provo Coach Chris Collinsworth. “I’m so happy that he plays here in Provo, and as you saw out there, he really does it all for us.”
Allen ran the point for the Bulldogs and used his superior instincts and quickness to drive the lane often and received many well-earned trips to the line, as a result. The 6-foot-2 Snow College commit was perhaps at his best late, and polished off his night with a thunderous dunk to help separate his team from the Patriots late.
“He’s one of the most dynamic guards who has ever played here at Provo. I mean, you saw that dunk,” Collinsworth said. “He’s the type of guy who could work for a good shot every possession, but this season he’s really focused well on involving his team and moving the ball around. His transformation there is the reason we’ve shown the improvements that we have so far this season.”
Complementing Allen’s play on Tuesday was forward Cullen Tollestrup, who scored 13 points, Griffin DeMartini, who added 12 and Lucas Castagnetto, who chipped in eight.
“I love my teammates,” Allen said. “We came out with energy tonight, and that’s the main thing, along with getting it done on defense. We’re cleaning up the little things and we have some star pieces. We have great guys off the bench and a lot of great pieces and I think we have the guys to go far this year.”
As Collinsworth mentioned, Allen is working well in involving his teammates as best he can this season.
“I got a little too sticky with the ball last year, so that’s definitely been my focus this year,” Allen said. “I’m just one of five guys out there, and it’s important to get everyone involved, playing at the top of their games, and that’s how we’re going to be successful and improve on what we did last year.”
The good thing is that the improvements already are apparent. Starting off the season Provo traveled down to the Saint George area and incurred three straight losses on consecutive nights to the likes of Dixie, Pine View and Bountiful.
“Two of those three losses came on buzzer-beaters and I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen to me while I was a player and certainly while I’ve been coach,” Collinsworth said. “So it was tough, and I think the players learned a lot and we’ve worked well to improve on certain things since those losses. I think defensively is where we made the biggest strides and we’re playing a lot more connected now. Saint George was rough, but we went down there for a reason and learned a lot about things about our team.”
What Collinsworth has learned about his team is that he really likes the components.
“I wouldn’t want to coach any other group of young men. I love our guys,” he said. “We returned all of our starters from last year, but only three of those are starting now, so that’s a great thing to have in having two former starters off the bench. So I think we’re deep and really experienced. We’re able to play a lot of guys and that’s intentional. We want to give as many players as much time as we can, and players are responding.”
With the win on Tuesday Provo improves to 5-3 on the season and will finish off the week hosting both Delta and Payson at home.
