Caption
Close
Johnson came close to beating Churchill the first two times they played this season, losing by four points in a tournament final and then by two in their first District 26-6A matchup.
The Jaguars broke through Wednesday night and in a big way.
Johnson turned a close game in the first half into a rout, running away for a 63-39 win at Littleton Gym.
“I think we just showed up tonight and played with a lot of heart,” Johnson senior Cooper Walton said. “It was just a great team win.”
The third consecutive win for the Jaguars (15-13, 5-4) left them and the Chargers (18-10, 5-4), No. 10 in the Express-News rankings, in a tie for fourth place. They are one game behind Madison and Roosevelt, which are tied for second.
Churchill was coming off a loss against first-place Reagan and fell flat against Johnson, falling behind by 10 points early in the third quarter and never recovering. The Chargers got 20 points from 5-foot-7 junior Aaron Estrada but no more than six from anyone else.
“We just didn’t come out to play,” Estrada said. “We didn’t come out with full energy and full effort.”
Walton scored a game- and season-high 21 points for the Jaguars and was especially effective in the third quarter, when his team turned a five-point lead to start the period into a 48-32 advantage heading into the fourth. The 6-2 swingman poured in 12 points in the third, knocking down a pair of 3-point goals, making two drives to the basket and also scoring on a putback.
“I just had the hot hand, and my teammates found me,” Walton said.
Johnson also got 14 points apiece from sophomore Zach Keller, the son of head coach Jay Keller, and freshman Mike Chandler. Chandler became the Jaguars’ starting quarterback midway through football season before sustaining an injury in their playoff game, and was making just his third appearance with the varsity basketball game.
The 14 points were a career high for Chandler, who finished 9 of 11 from the free-throw line and also made a 3-pointer.
“I feel like I played pretty good,” Chandler said.
The Chargers felt much differently about their performance, especially as the game progressed. They cut a 10-point deficit in the second quarter to five by halftime, but had no comebacks left in them after a sluggish start to the third quarter.
Churchill did not make a field goal in the fourth.
“They were just the better team tonight in just about every way,” Churchill coach Brad Lacey said. “We never really got anything going, and I think they’re playing well right now.”
adam.zuvanich@express-news.net
Twitter: @AZuvanich
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
