He might be a work in progress, but Cardinal O'Hara's Ed Allen certainly is putting in the work.

The lean 6-4 senior forward, who plays the center spot for the Lions, totaled 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots (including this one, pictured) in O'Hara's 57-55 nonleague win Tuesday over Academy Park.

O'Hara doesn't have tons of size in the lineup, so Lions coach Tim Kelly is forced to play Allen in the middle. That's not an issue for Allen, an undersize big man who's got more height than weight. That didn't hinder Allen against Academy Park, with Allen holding his own against much more physical post players Cyrie Spencer (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Delco's leading scorer Chuck Dorsey (10 points).

"(Dorsey) got into foul trouble and we knew coming into the game that he'd jump and get tired," Allen said. "That was our gameplan and I just wanted to stay with him as long as I could, to make a difference."

Because of his lean build, rebounding ability and his shooting range, which stretches to 12 feet, Allen has "the potential to develop into a nice college player," Kelly said, even though it might take some time.

Kelly said Allen is receiving light Division II and III recruiting interest...for now.

(Photo: Times staff / ROBERT J. GURECKI)