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Much-improved Bonner-Prendie keeps it rolling against West Catholic

01/23/2017, 10:15pm EST
By Will Slover

Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
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Bonner-Prendergast held just a nine-point lead over the host West Catholic with 3:45 to go in the third quarter and it looked like the Friars might fall victim to upset in front of a heavy Burrs' crowd on Monday night.

That is, until a technical foul called on West Catholic bench sparked a quick run for the Friars to close the quarter, and Bonner-Prendie never looked back.

B-P used the run to spark a late push and the Friars went on to beat West Catholic by a score of 64-45 and maintain their spot as one of the top four teams in the Catholic League.

Highlighting the late Bonner-Prendie (13-3, 5-2 PCL) push was the effort of junior forward Ajiri Johnson, as the 6-foot-8 big man scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the second half. The Putnam Science (Conn.) transfer also grabbed a game-high of 11 rebounds in the double-double performance.

After moving to America from his native Nigeria at age 15 and transferring to Bonner-Prendie this offseason, the big man has seen his game grow leaps and bounds in his short time as a Friar.

"He had a great game. He’s very athletic,” Bonner-Prendie head coach Jack Concannon said. “He’s getting better every day, he’s still a work in progress but he’s got a bright future.”

Although his double-double was a huge reason why Bonner was able to come out on top on Monday night, Johnson’s defense was even more important as he was a focal point in the Friars’ defensive effort that held West Catholic (2-12, 1-6 PCL) to just 15 points in the middle two quarters, which was where the Friars’ built the majority of their lead.

“They always look up to me to help them with defense and I’m the guy to do the work,” Johnson said. “My defense creates offense for us.”

In those middle two quarters, Johnson netted four emphatic blocks and also altered countless other West Catholic inside shots and made it nearly impossible for the Burrs to score inside the key.

“Every time I get a block, it keeps their spirit down,” Johnson said. “That’s how we got the lead and that’s how we kept the game going.”

Leading the way for West Catholic in its loss was junior guard Ty Sutton-Durham, who finished with 13 points, while also dishing out three assists.

Monday’s win for Bonner-Prendie is one that shows how improved this year’s team is, as the victory both matches its win total from last season and also surpasses the amount of the Friars had in Catholic League play last season.

Concannon attributes the team’s drastic turnaround to the efforts to his seven seniors, four of which join Johnson in Bonner’s starting lineup.

“I think it helps when we have seven seniors. They understand now, they’ve been through the wars now when we’ve been battling for ninth and tenth place,” Concannon said. “It’s their team. They’re stepping up and being leaders.”

Often times in high school basketball, seniors who haven’t had much success in their careers can become selfish and lose track of their goals in the late going, but not this group for Bonner-Prendie.

“The seniors are amazing. They keep our heads up,” Johnson said of his teammates. “They’re the head of the team. They bring so much to the table.”

Also to Johnson’s liking, all seven of the seniors happen to play guard and have been more than willing to share the spotlight with a junior.

“All the guards are seniors and I look forward to playing with them every day because they make the whole team better,” Johnson added.

Two of those senior guards, Christian Lane and Tymir Cooper, helped Johnson in carrying the scoring load on Monday night as the duo finished with 17 and 10, respectively.

The unselfishness of the seven seniors is another reason why Concannon thinks that this year’s Bonner-Prendie team finds themselves in the hunt for a Catholic League title, rather than battling to just make the playoffs, which has been the case in years past.

“We don’t have any superstars. We have some really good basketball players, though. Kids that play hard and are unselfish. We don’t have one guy that says, ‘Oh, I have to get 20 tonight,’” Concannon said. “We make the extra pass. We’re a very unselfish team and very mature that way as far as looking for the best play.”

Bonner-Prendie will look to keep its’ hot season going this weekend as they face two tough Catholic league opponents on the road in 5th place Father Judge (11-5, 4-3 PCL) on Friday and then the top-ranked Neumann-Goretti (11-5, 7-0 PCL) on Sunday.

“We just have to keep it going. Every night in this league, it’s a battle,” Concannon said. “It doesn’t get easy. You just have to keep your nose down and keep battling.”


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