by This content is brought to you by these fine sponsors – Sponsors – Kee On Sports Media Group
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio– Deandre Jones and Marcus Johnson combined for 51 points Sunday afternoon, helping propel Garfield to an impressive 68-55 win over Western Reserve.
“Honestly, that’s the best team we’ve faced all year,” head coach Sonny Johnson said. “I don’t think we’re going to face a team like that again this season.”
Garfield started the game off with intensity and effort, something that led them to early success. They took an early 9-2 lead halfway through the first quarter and even took an 18-9 lead after the game’s opening eight minutes.
Sophomore Marcus Johnson and senior Deandre Jones had a combined 16 of the team’s 18 first-quarter points. With the Pioneers dominating size inside the paint, the Bulldogs played with more tempo than usual, trying to outrun the height of Western Reserve.
It was hard to keep them out of the game for long, as the Pioneers started to settle in more throughout the second quarter. A 3-pointer from Demarius Owens even put his team ahead for the first time, 27-26 late in the first half.
The Bulldogs would take a 30-29 lead at halftime as the Pioneers would outscore the Bulldogs 20-12 to close out the first half. Marcus Johnson was all over the court throughout the night, battling through the bigs to get to the rim and even testing his 3-point shoot often as he led all scorers with 15 points at the break.
Highly touted Division I recruit Nikola Bundalo opened the second half scoring the first five points for the Pioneers. Bundalo has a slew of Division I offers and was able to showcase why he is such an elite recruit with his size and shooting.
However, Marcus Johnson did his best to keep his team ahead throughout the second half as both teams traded away baskets for the majority of the second half. The Pioneers took a 44-43 lead after the third quarter.
Carter Jackson started off the fourth quarter knocking down back-to-back shots, helping the Bulldogs start the first four minutes of the fourth quarter on an 11-3 run. Along with Jackson was Marcus Johnson attacking the rim, he connecting on two consecutive layups as his team took a 56-50 lead with three minutes left.
From there, Deandre Jones alongside Marcus Johnson was able to help close out the game for the Bulldogs. Head coach Sonny Johnson believes Jones is playing his best basketball this season, as he dropped 25 points and 10 rebounds during the win.
“I think we have two first-team All-State players,” Johnson said in regards to how well Deandre Jones is playing right now.”Kent State got a steal, that’s just straight facts.”
The Bulldogs ended the night connecting on 17-of-20 free throws during the win, with Marcus Johnson leading the way with MVP honors and a game-high 26 points.
“We’re just getting better,” Johnson said. “We just have to keep going and keep working hard.”
