CLARK, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders kicked off their new season at home against the Morris Catholic High School Crusaders (Denville). After a slow start, a quick offensive push sparked the home team, who fought to a 17-17 tie with 4:49 left in the second quarter.
The visiting Crusaders found a way around the push from the home Crusaders as the rest of the quarter winded down.
All it took was a 10-0 run, which featured three straight three-point baskets as Morris Catholic suddenly opened it up, leading 27-17, pulling away and never looking back, defeating Johnson 70-52 Friday night in Clark.
Morris Catholic jumped out to a 7-2 lead early on, before Johnson began to hit more baskets, including offensive contributions from sophomore Tino Puentes, senior Brandon Hund and junior Matt O’Connor. Once trailing 7-2, Johnson found themselves trailing 11-10. Morris Catholic hit key layups and took a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.
As the second quarter began, O’Connor fueled a brief Johnson offensive push, adding three points, along with a basket from Rob Lukasiewicz to knot up the score, before Morris Catholic took over.
Chimdi Ewenike, Marco Gordilis and Armaan Grewal each drained a three-point basket to give their team a cushion in a matter of two minutes. It appeared as if for one moment, Johnson was poised to take their first lead of the game, but Morris Catholic denied it with great force behind the key shots, carrying a 27-19 lead into halftime.
Chimidi Ewenike led his team with 23 points, while Armaan Grewal added 19 points to the road win for his team.
Morris Catholic outscored Johnson 19-13 in the third quarter to push their lead to 46-32 heading into the final quarter of action. They coasted through the fourth quarter and captured their first win in their season opener.
“We have to establish our mentality with the way we want to play. We might have to use this as a throwaway game,” Johnson head coach Dave Kennedy said. “Give credit to Morris Catholic, they came into our gym and played well and we didn’t play our style of game.”
Full Coverage of Johnson Boys Varsity Basketball Home Opener vs. Morris Catholic HS Here
