Boys Basketball: Johnson leads Joliet West to victory

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Updated: January 15, 2012 8:11AM

Joliet West’s 6-9 senior forward Marlon Johnson made his presence known early blocking six shots and scored a game-high 22 points to lead Joliet West over visiting T.F. South 62-59 in nonconference action Tuesday night.

Johnson added 13 rebounds in the victory.

“I don’t really like giving up layups, so that’s what I like to do,” Johnson said.

The Tigers also had contributions from Brian Edwards (10 points, 6 rebounds) and Carl Terrell (9 points).

“We played careless tonight and with a lack of focus,” Joliet West coach Luke Yaklich said.

T.F. South was led by Kenny Doss (15 points, 7 rebounds), while teammate Robert Ryan added 13 points.

Joliet West (6-2) couldn’t have asked for a better start as Johnson had a couple of blocks early, and his basket gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.

Johnson then thrilled the home crowd with an ally-oop dunk from Terrell that extended the lead to 19-7 with six minutes left in the half.

“I’m concerned because we are relying on Marlon to get every rebound and block every shot and clean up the mistakes,” Yaklich said.

Joliet West led 29-19 at halftime on 9-of-24 shooting but converted only 10-of-20 free throws.

“I have never been part of a game where you have as many turnovers as you do missed free throws,” Yaklich said.

T.F. South (6-2) stormed out of the gate in the second half going on a 12-0 run and taking a 31-29 lead on a Kevon Cottrell basket with 5:32 left in the quarter. The Tigers responded with a 14-4 run and led 43-35 with 1:20 left in the quarter.

Brandon McCullum’s dunk put the Tigers back on top 57-51 with just over a minute to play, and Johnson’s two free throws sealed the Rebels’ fate at 62-57 with 10 seconds left.

“We let Joliet West dictate to us in the first half, and even though we lost I think it will help us down the road,” T.F. South coach John O’Rourke said.