South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Johnston puts on a show, scores 52
Westminster guard dials long distance to top The Villages
MONTVERDE — Chase Johnston scored 52 points Saturday to help the Westminster Academy Lions rout The Villages 93-70 in the consolation third-place game at the Montverde Academy Invitational.
His total is the most for this year’s tournament. Montverde officials were checking records to see where the game ranked in tournament history.
Johnston, a Purdue-Fort Wayne signee, hit eight
3-pointers for the Lions
(18-4), two-time defending Class 4A champions. Johnston scored 26 points in each half.
“This is one of the best ones, because it’s on one of the biggest stages — a nationally ranked facility,” Johnston said.
Johnston added drives to the lane to his repertoire for this victory. He credited his conditioning for handling the Buffaloes’ halfcourt pressure.
“They really didn’t help out that much,” he said. “I knew they were going to get at me at the start, but I’m a little more in condition than they are. I ran off some screens, and my shot’s quick enough to where if they’re on me I can still get it off.”
He then scored 12 points during an 18-0 run in the third quarter that put the Lions up 66-40.
The Villages (13-6) played the Lions tight early, with Terry Ivery hitting three 3-pointers in the first half. His
3-pointer with 1:26 left in the first helped the Buffaloes gain their last tie 18-18.
University of Texas-Arlington signee Sam Griffin put the Lions ahead for good with a jumper on the next possession. Griffin finished with 12 points and Stephen Dibongue had 10 points for the Lions, who also got 17 rebounds from Ben Middlebrooks.
Early in the second quarter, Johnston’s jumper gave the Lions their first doubledigit lead in the middle of an 11-0 run. The Villages got back within 8 points three more times before their
18-0 game-clinching run. Johnston Naomi Osaka kisses the Australian Open championship trophy Saturday after she defeated Petra Kvitova.