LORETTO —
Johnstown trailed Forest Hills by three points early in the second quarter of Thursday’s District 6 Class AAA championship game at St. Francis University’s DeGol Arena.
The Rangers zone defense had been effective until that point.
But Johnstown junior guard Quinten Brandon knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, and his teammate, junior Dwight Andrews, added a third long-range bomb.
Suddenly, the Trojans were up six and their fans were alive.
Forest Hills never truly recovered as Johnstown ran to a 63-41 victory for its third consecutive 6-AAA crown and sixth in the past eight years.
“We’ve got some guys that can knock down the long-range shot,” Johnstown coach Neil Cobaugh said. “I give them the green light as long as they’re taking smart shots. I have all the confidence that they’re going to knock them down.”
The 22-1 Trojans will play next Friday against the winner of a Tuesday play-in contest between the District 9 runner-up and District 7 fifth-place squad. Forest Hills takes a 20-6 mark into Tuesday’s game against the District 7 sixth-place team.
“The second quarter, we were up 17-14 at one point,” Forest Hills coach Lance McGough said.
“They took two 3s off of a missed rotation. We got a little antsy and our offense kind of shut down. We went away from attacking the basket and running through plays. It was like one pass and a shot. You’re giving the ball back to Johnstown.”
Brandon had a game-high 21 points and chipped in with six rebounds.
“We just came out and had to execute better than we did early in the game,” Brandon said.
“We had open looks and our coach encouraged us to knock them down.”
Junior Alkwan Williams was a force inside, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with 13 points.
“We wanted to come out and run the court, get the ball up and down the court and beat everybody else to it,” Williams said. “We were working on rebounding the ball all week.”
Andrews finished with 12 points, and junior Isaiah Haselrig had 10 points and 10 boards.
“The kids battled all night long and I’m proud of them,” Cobaugh said. “We have a talented group of guys. The best part about it is they know the game. It’s a joy to watch them play and enjoy the game as teammates.”
Forest Hills’ standout senior duo of 1,000-point scorers, Luke Gallaher and Tanner Thomas, tallied 12 and 14 points, respectively.
Thomas, a 500-rebound player, had seven boards against the Trojans.
“They played a hell of a defense on Luke,” McGough said. “They had a guy in his face the whole game. Philip (Madison) does a good job.
“It’s frustrating for Luke. I don’t think we were very effective in getting screens for Luke.”
Cobaugh also praised Madison, a sophomore guard who had seven points.
“What a performance,” Cobaugh said. “To hold Luke Gallaher, one of the best athletes, if not the best athlete in the area, to 12 points, what a monster effort on the defensive side of the ball. Philip sacrificed on the offensive end for the good of the team.”
Johnstown had 41 rebounds, more than double of Forest Hills’ 19.
“I think we ran into a buzz saw,” McGough said.
“They were the better team without a doubt from the second quarter on. No matter what we did, they were knocking everything down.
“They played very well.
“Sometimes you get the bear,” added McGough, whose team handed Johnstown its lone loss on Jan. 19 but later fell in the LHAC title game prior to Thursday. “Sometimes the bear gets you. They got us tonight.”
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Related Photos
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Johnstown’s Philip Madison (left) brings the ball upcourt under pressure from Forest Hills’ Kody Johnson during Thursday’s District 6 Class AAA championship game at St. Francis University. Dave Lloyd
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Johnstown wins 6-AA championship
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