Led by Ryan Yankee’s game-high 20 points, the Johnston boys’ basketball team scored 42 points in the second half to erase a five-point halftime deficit, en route to a 70-61 win over Chariho on Tuesday night.
It looked like Chariho may bury the Panthers early, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead to start the game.
However, Johnston was able to persevere through its early struggles and settle in, as Chris Vizzacco nailed a three with 10 minutes remaining in the first half to pull within two points, 10-8.
The Chargers were able to widen the gap once again though, as they were able to score the next nine points on two three-pointers from Nathan Morin and one from Jake Beuregard to make it 17-8.
But just like earlier in the half, the Panthers were able to battle back, taking their first lead of the game, 28-27, after a Larry Dureault layup with 2:30 left in the half.
By the end of the half, the Panthers were buckling down defensively, forcing tough, contested jump shots from the Chargers.
“We live and die by our defense,” Johnston head coach Steve DeMeo said. “I told them that if we maintain our defensive intensity, then we’d be fine.”
Chariho was able to regain its lead by halftime, but there was no question that Johnston had built some momentum heading into the second half.
That certainly showed when the two teams came back onto the floor for the final 16 minutes of play.
Less than three minutes into the half, the Panthers regained the lead.
Point guard Jake Dannenfelser scored his first points of the game, knocking down a three, to give the Panthers a 39-37 lead.
Chariho’s Jake Dicenzo scored in the paint on the other end to tie the game, but the Chargers would never lead again in the game.
“Our goal going in was to try to wear them down,” DeMeo said. “I think tonight we played 12 or 13 guys and we continuously shuffled them out. I think our press took its toll after a while.”
Yankee drove the ball to the hoop and got fouled for an and-1 with 9:20 to play, making the free throw to extend Johnston’s lead to 49-42.
From there, the Panthers took control of the game.
Johnston stretched its lead out to 10 points with 6:30 remaining.
Jake Coro nailed a three and then stole the ball and made a nice pass to Nas Vasquez, who finished on a drive to the basket to give the Panthers a 58-48 lead.
At one point, Chariho had cut the score to 51-48, but then Johnston went on an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 14 to put the game out of reach.
Dannenfelser and Coro were impressive in the backcourt in the second half, combining for 13 points and sparking a big run to take control of the game in the middle of the half.
“Coro coming off the bench was huge for us,” DeMeo said. “We know what we’re getting with Chris (Vizzacco) and Dannenfelser, but Coro came in, hit a couple of jump shots and was so aggressive on defense. He really picked everybody up, not only the five guys on the floor, but the guys on the bench as well.”
Besides Yankee’s 20 points, Vasquez also had a big game, chipping in with 16 points – seven in the first half and nine in the second half.
Dannenfelser had eight points, while Stephen Cotoia and Louis Sasa each had six.
Forward Shane Stewart led the Chargers with a team-high 15 points in the loss.
Johnston will face its toughest test in Division III on Friday, as the Panthers will travel to Scituate to take on the Spartans at 7 p.m.
Johnston and Scituate are currently the two top teams in D-III, as both have unblemished 4-0 records. The only other team that is still undefeated in D-III is Moses Brown at 3-0.
“Division III is very competitive this year,” DeMeo said. “We have to go up to Scituate now. They haven’t been beaten yet in the league, so we know what to expect from them up there.”
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