Johnson's early spark propels Campbell Hall past Saugus
Isaiah Johnson wasn't perfect from the field Friday night, but in the first quarter, it seemed as if every shot he took went in.
The Campbell Hall point guard made his first four shots from the field and finished the quarter with 12 points on his way to a gamehigh 28 points to lead the Vikings to an 83-63 victory over Saugus in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA boys basketball playoffs.
“I knew the other team had some dogs on their team, so me being the captain and point guard, I had to come out and get my team going,” Johnson said. “Credit to my team, they brought the energy, we pressed and that got me going. It was a
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together thing.”
“He came to play. He's been my most steady guy all year long,” Campbell Hall head coach David Grace said about Johnson. “He's an amazing young man who has a great future. Great parents, he's very grounded, a great student and he understands the game. He's special.”
The Vikings got off to a 10-2 lead to start the game, but ended up needing all of Johnson's 12 first-quarter points as Saugus fought back to take a one-point lead heading into the second quarter.
Saugus was able to score by breaking through Campbell Hall's press with the senior duo of Peter Burton and Justin Perez getting to the basket and hitting from midrange.
But Johnson got support from his teammates in the second quarter and throughout the rest of the game, with Aliaun Iscandari and Aaron Powell getting involved offensively.
Sophomore guard Deuce Newt provided a spark off the bench, scoring seven points in the second quarter to help Campbell Hall take a double-digit lead to halftime, which the Vikings maintained for the rest of the game.
Even when the game was tight early, the Vikings showed no fear. They played with a sense of urgency, but took care of the ball and found good shots.
The Vikings had arguably the toughest schedule in the area. They played local powerhouse programs like Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and highly-ranked national teams like DeMatha and Sagemont.
The tough schedule led to some early ups and downs, but helped prepare Campbell Hall for this moment, as it looks to make a long postseason run.
“We've seen every coverage. We've been down, we've been up in games, so we know what it takes,” Johnson said. “It builds character, we're battle tested. We've just been staying steady throughout the season and it's paying off now.”
Iscandari finished with 21 points and Powell added 13 points for Campbell Hall. Center James Bass pulled down 11 rebounds and had two blocks to go along with five points he scored in the fourth quarter.
Perez led Saugus with 19 points and Burton scored 16 points. Bryce Mejia scored nine points off of three 3-pointers.