Pickin' Splinters

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Zero the Hero: Johnson’s fourth quarter lifts Prattsburgh to sectional title

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Kris Johnson (No. 0 for Prattsburgh) scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s victory. (PHOTO: JOHN LIKANJE)

By JOHN LIKANJE

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – With just over a minute remaining and his team grasping a six-point lead, Prattsburgh’s Kris Johnson stepped into the lane and drew a charge. Instead of celebrating with his teammates and the rest of the crowd, the junior forward got up and jogged to his spot on the court to set up for Elba’s full-court press. Johnson knew that the game was still far from over and drawing that charge was simply part of his role to help the team win.

Another part of Johnson’s role was being a second option behind 2,000-point scorer Mason Putnam. With his best friend in foul trouble, Johnson scored 13 of Prattsburgh’s 25 fourth-quarter points to lift the Vikings to a 72-64 victory over top-seeded Elba.

“My role, coming off the bench, is to play good defense and put a couple of points up on the board,” Johnson explained.

Leading 47-43 going into the final stanza, the junior forward netted the Vikings’ first nine points on a layup and three jumpers, including a long-range shot.

Johnson made a layup and a free throw line jumper as well to extend Prattsburgh’s lead to 64-56 with just over two minutes remaining.

“I just knew that two of my good teammates were in foul trouble and I had to step up at the end of the game to win,” the junior forward commented.

“Seeing him knock down those shots in big shots, that gave us a cushion to keep going and that was perfect,” Putnam said about his best friend.

“He’s capable of doing that any given day,” Prattsburgh head coach Brian Putnam proclaimed about Johnson. “It’s just a matter of him sliding to those open spots. He did a great job in the high post today. Absolutely huge in the second half.”

Despite Elba attempting a late rally with three-pointers by Colton Dillon and CJ Gottler, Mason Putnam hit 6-of-8 free throws and Macoy Putnam made a pair of his own to secure the block, Prattsburgh’s third in the last five years.

“It feels amazing, especially with it being my senior year,” Mason Putnam said. “We wanted to go on top. We set that goal at the very beginning and we accomplished that, so I’m very proud of all of us.”

“I think it’s the kids and their hard work,” Coach Putnam explained. “I really do. These kids dedicate themselves to the program. They come in and work hard day in and day out.”

For the game, Johnson had 16 points off the bench. Putnam led with a team-high 19 points. The senior guard now has 2,493 career varsity points.

“It’s always nice to not only see your kid be successful, but the team be successful,” Putnam said about his son. “Mason gets a lot of the credit, but without his teammates, he’s not where he is for sure.”

James Crowder pitched in 12 points. Ammon Anderson (8), Henry DeVoe (6), Macoy Putnam (5), Sawyer DeVoe (4) and Chris Hively (2) rounded out the scoring for Prattsburgh, which forced 17 turnovers and 25 missed field goals in 64 possessions.

For Elba, Dillon poured in a game-high 30 points on 10 layups, a three-pointer and 7-of-12 foul shots. Dillon completed his career with 1,363 varsity points.

Jaykob Belluscio chipped in 10 points. Zach Marsceill (7), Greyson Huntington (6), Collin O’Halloran (6), Gottler (3) and Caleb Scouten (2) rounded out the scoring for Elba.

Prattsburgh advances to the NYS Far West Regional Qualifier and will take on Class D1 champion Avoca, which defeated Genesee Valley, 80-58.

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