Johnson's 22 lead Jericho to county final
Jericho's Garrett Johnson looks to get around Great Neck North's Alec Ludwig. (Feb. 28, 2012) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
Remember when Jericho trailed Tuesday night? Neither does Garrett Johnson.
After Great Neck North opened the game with a layup, Johnson scored 16 points during a 23-0 run that put the Jayhawks well on their way to the county final. Johnson had 22 points as No. 5 Jericho cruised to a 54-25 win over No. 8 Great Neck North in the Nassau Class A semifinals at SUNY-Old Westbury.
"Once we get going,'' Johnson said, "we're a hard team to stop.''
After scoring all of his points in the first half, including four three-pointers, Johnson spent most of the second half watching from the bench with his fellow starters.
He opened the second quarter with two corner threes, and Corey Miller's layup in transition gave Jericho a 23-2 lead with 5:57 left in the half. David Orr had six of his nine points as Jericho entered the break with a 35-10 lead.
Miller, a speedy point guard, finished with nine points, including a three to put Jericho ahead 43-10.
"We just ran our sets and had confidence in each other,'' Miller said. "Once we started putting the ball in the hoop, it just kept coming.''
Alec Ludwig's nine points led Great Neck North (15-5), which defeated top-seeded Lawrence in the quarterfinals.
"It's all about the defense,'' Jericho coach Walter Bachman said. "I don't have a kid that can grab the rim. But we play good fundamental basketball and have a will to win.''
Jericho (15-5) will play No. 2 South Side for the county championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hofstra.
"To come all this way and go to the county finals,'' Miller said, "there's nothing better than that.''
Sarra Sounds Off Ep. 35: EI baseball, girls lacrosse and plays of the week On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," we look at East Islip baseball's inspirational comeback story, Jared Valluzzi has the plays of the week and Tess Ferguson breaks down the top defensive players in girls lacrosse.
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