Nottingham eases past rival Steinert
HAMILTON » The last thing Colonial Valley Conference basketball teams want to see is Nottingham have another potential scorer.
But Ku’Jane Johnson showed he could fill the need if necessary in the Northstars 95-37 victory over visiting Steinert Tuesday night.
When it was still a game in the first quarter, Johnson scored six of his season- high eight points to get the Northstars underway. He shot 4-for-6 and grabbed 10 rebounds; leaving coach Chris Raba dismayed he sat Johnson, along with the other starters, in the fourth quarter when he was close to his first career double-double.
“I would have kept him in if I had known,” Raba said.
But, there was no need for the starters to play as they had already done their job. Cliff Joseph had 22 points while Richie Jones had 18, Darell Johnson 19 and Kastro Montina 11 points and six rebounds.
With that cast of characters, it’s hard for Ku’Jane Johnson to get many shots, but he took advantage of his opportunities against the Spartans.
“It felt good,” Johnson said. “They were passing me the ball, I was wide open, so I just went up with it.”
“He’s coming along,” Raba said. “He’s on his own schedule at practice. We have him ride a bike, have him jump rope. He’s on his own thing because he came in a little overweight. We’re trying to get him more nimble, back to some of the weight he was last year.”
Johnson was the beneficiary of some nice deliveries from Jones and company, as the Northstars’ interior passing provided numerous easy layups. Despite having games and practices snowed out, Nottingham looked extremely sharp. The Stars committed just six turnovers.
“I was a little concerned,” Raba said. “We hadn’t gotten together since last Wednesday. We haven’t practiced or anything. These guys seem like they didn’t miss a beat. These guys make the extra pass. They’re a good group.”
Steinert (1-6), which got 14 points from Mario Mazur, led 9-8 with 4:13 left in the first quarter before Nottingham went on one of it’s patented runs. The Stars (7-0) scored 12 straight and 15 of the next 17 to assume a 23-11 lead after one quarter.
The Spartans tried hanging in and were within 10 early in the second quarter before Nottingham methodically pulled away. The Northstars outscored Steinert 26-5 over the final six minutes for a 31-point halftime lead.
Nottingham hopes to get a test on Friday when it visits Trenton; as it has blown out every team but Hopewell Valley this year.
“There’s so much potential on this team; just so much potential,” Ku’Jane Johnson said. “I’m not surprised how we came out (after the week-long break). We’ve got that chemistry.”
Morrison 3-0-6, Mazur 5-2-14, Girodano 3-0-6, Cohen 1-0-2, Meszaros 0-1-1, Pittaro 0-0-0, Pirone 0-0-0, Scanlan 0-0-0, Ming 0-0-0, Lai 1-0-2, Tella 0-0-0, Plunkett 2-2-6.
15-5-37.
Totals —
Jones 6-2-18, Joseph 9-3-22, D. Johnson 7-2-19, Montina 5-0-11, K. Johnson 4-0-8, Jenkins 2-05, Williasm 1-0-2, Brown 3-0-6, Raba 2-0-4, Willie 0-0-0.
39-7-95.
Totals — Steinert (1-6) 11 Nottingham (7-0)23 3-point goals — 9 28 6 27 11 — 15 — 37 95
Mazur 2 (S). Jones 4, D. Johnson 3, Joseph, Jenkins (N).
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @Fish4scores