CLARK, NJ- After the first 16 minutes of action, the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders boys varsity basketball team found themselves in a back-and-forth game on the offense against the New Egypt High School Warriors. The Crusaders held a 24-23 lead at halftime, but most of their chances on the offense weren’t falling through early on.
“In the first half, we had to play, all of five of us [starters], as one,” Johnson junior Brandon Hund said. “All of us had to rebound, we had to outlook them and push the fast break because we weren’t scoring that well. So, we had to hold them the rest of the [first] half.”
The Crusaders and Warriors were tied 12-12 after the first eight minutes of play. Despite trying to create chances early, shots weren’t falling; hard pressing on the defensive side allowed them to get points.
“We got a lot of turnovers and stops and that can really turn into some transition points and into some easy scores for us, which we needed because we struggled a little bit in the first half offensively,” Johnson senior George Visconti said.
In the second quarter, Johnson continued to go toe-and-toe with New Egypt, with Hund opening the quarter with a three-point basket, but Johnson trailed on two occasions [16-15 and 19-17] before receiving timely baskets from Visconti and senior Jeff Drajin, including going 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
“Our shots weren’t falling for either of us. We played defense as a team,” Hund said of the second quarter.
Visconti scored 12 of his points in the first half, ultimately finishing with 18 points in the win for Johnson.
Things turned around in the second half as the Johnson defense began to make a stand. The Crusaders went on a 9-0 scoring run to open the quarter and did not allow New Egypt to record a single basket for the first five and a half minutes. The defense, as a whole, carried the Crusaders to a win over the Warriors by a final score of 55-37 Saturday afternoon in Clark.
The Crusaders saw fast transitions on points in the start of the third quarter, with senior George Visconti scored two consecutive baskets to put Johnson ahead 28-23. Junior Brenden Kelly increased the Crusaders’ lead to 30-23 with a basket of his own, to help the Crusaders open it up, forcing New Egypt into taking a timeout.
“It was definitely our team defense as a whole. We were pressuring the ball and we were really challenging gaps, just making catches hard for them and when you do that, great things can happen, as you just saw,” Visconti said.
Senior Joe DiProfio got into the offensive mix of the scoring run with a three-point basket that energized the crowd and people in the bleachers, with Johnson now out in front 33-23, forcing New Egypt to burn their third timeout with 2:30 left in the third quarter, as Johnson stood strong over New Egypt.
“We wanted to be able to have the ability to get stops throughout the season, so that was really important for us, certainly a confidence-booster down the road. It will be a point of reference,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said.
As a team, Johnson hit 6 three-point baskets and went 13-for-15 at the free throw line to give themselves a chance to capture the victory.
“Towards the second half, we started to play better on offense,” Hund added.
The Warriors recorded their first basket of the third quarter right out of their third timeout, with senior Anthony Burr scoring a basket, the first points for New Egypt with 2:24 left. His second one of the quarter would account for the four Warriors points of that quarter.
“I didn’t initially realize it was five and a half minutes [holding New Egypt to zero points in the third quarter], so that’s great,” Kennedy said.
Johnson led New Egypt 37-27 after the third quarter, outscoring them 13-4 to build a substantial lead after the shaky start.
In the fourth quarter, the Crusaders saw a balance on offense, with Kelly and Visconti combining for five points. DiProfio buried a basket and drained a three-point shot that would build Johnson’s lead to 46-32 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
“I feel like we really turned on our identity in the second half, which for us, was team defense,” Visconti said.
DiProfio finished with eight points in the afternoon victory, credited the defense as critical in the afternoon victory.
“We knew, coming out of [halftime], that defense would ultimately win us the game and we dug in on defense,” DiProfio said. “We let up 14 points in the second half. It was a great defensive effort.”
The Crusaders saw their starters get a piece of the offense in the fourth quarter, including four points apiece from Kelly and Hund to seal the deal and victory for the Crusaders.
Hund finished with 14 points in the win, while Kelly finished with 11 points for the Crusaders.
“It was fun, the crowd starting getting into it and the gym started getting noisy and we thrive off of that as well, Visconti added. “It was a great atmosphere in the second half.”
For New Egypt, senior Owen Rabb finished with 14 points, while Burr scored 11 points for his team in the loss.
The Johnson Crusaders (3-0) are back in action when they play Rahway HS in Rahway on Wednesday, December 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the John “Butch” Kowal Christmas Tournament.
“Rahway’s an incredible challenge,” Kennedy said. “They’re physical and athletic and we know each other. Jeff [Lubreski] does a great job over there. It’s going to be a great game.”
The New Egypt Warriors (1-2) play Pinelands HS Wednesday, December 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the first round of their Christmas tournament.
