PLAINFIELD, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders boys varsity basketball team hit the road to begin their set of games in the 2018 Union County Tournament, with a first round matchup against the Plainfield High School Cardinals. After a tight first quarter, the 14-seeded Crusaders used a 21-7 second quarter and a late offensive surge to defeat the 11-seeded Cardinals by a final score of 62-52 Saturday afternoon in Plainfield.
The Crusaders and Cardinals played through a close first eight minutes of action, with the game tied 12-12 after the first quarter.
Johnson took a major jump in the second quarter, outscoring Plainfield 21-7 to take a 33-19 lead into halftime, but the Cardinals would furiously rally to get back in the game.
The Cardinals got to within 40-35 with five minutes left in the third quarter and went into the fourth quarter trailing 43-40, after outscoring Johnson 21-10 to get them back in the game.
Johnson held on to a 49-48 lead over Plainfield with four minutes remaining but put together a 13-4 offensive run to close the game and seal the deal, capturing the victory.
For Johnson, senior George Visconti scored 26 points in the win, while junior Brandon Hund tallied 16 points and junior Brenden Kelly each scored 13 points.
The Johnson Crusaders (13-6) advance to the 2018 Union County Tournament Second Round. They will take on sixth-seeded Rahway HS on Wednesday, February 14 with the time and destination TBD.
The two teams previously played on December 27, with Rahway defeating Johnson 74-68 in the first round of the John “Butch” Kowal Christmas Tournament.
Their next regular season game is at Delaware Valley HS Monday night at 6:00 p.m.
The Plainfield Cardinals (7-14) are back in action when they travel and play at Union Catholic HS Monday, February 12 at 7:00 p.m.