By PAUL GOTHAM
EAST ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A year ago, JC Walker led Lyons into the New York State Class C Far West Regional.
Quick off the dribble, the 6-foot-4 then-senior swing man was comfortable making decisions in transition. He could break down a defense off the bounce and get into the lane where he finished with either hand or distributed to an open teammate when opposing defenses collapsed to take away his lane to the basket.
Fast forward to the current season. Jamire “J.J.” Johnson provides an interior presence for the Lions. A back-to-the-basket big, the 6-foot-5 sophomore forward is at the center of the Lyons offense.
Going from an outside-in to inside-out attack has taken some adjusting.
Based upon Wednesday’s result, the Lions have found their rhythm.
“It’s been interesting for them to learn how to work off J.J.,” said head coach Dean Schott II after Lyons defeated host East Rochester, 77-48. “There’s so much around him all the time. He can get them open shots. We’ve been preaching it all year.”
Johnson was one of four in double figures for the Lions (14-2) who won their fourth straight game.
Stephen LeBrecht buries a corner 3. @goLYLIONS 30-14 midway through the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/bjfhHyS0cj
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 1, 2024
Mikey Briggs hits a baseline jumper. pic.twitter.com/MPZya2ahjh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 1, 2024
“All year we’ve been getting a lot of open jump shots because everyone focuses on J.J.,” Schott said. “But we haven’t been making them. It’s coming together right now.”
Evidence of that is the combined six 3-pointers from Stephen LeBrecht, Devyn Williams and Dez Bell along with a handful of open jumpers that the Lions delivered.
“Our losses this year, we haven’t shot very well,” said senior point guard Mikey Briggs who finished with nine points and eight assists in the win. “We were getting our looks, but we definitely can see the opening that J.J. creates. We’re definitely starting to knock ‘em down.”
This is not to suggest that Briggs, Johnson and the rest of the Lyons squad weren’t getting to the rim. There was plenty of that as the Lions converted steals into layups.
The outside presence balances out the attack.
They built an early 15-5 lead and then caused five turnovers on the first six possessions of the second quarter.
Later, LeBrecht’s corner 3 made it a 31-14 game.
“It’s totally different,” Schott said of when his team needs to generate offense in the half-court set. “Last two weeks, we’ve been starting to shoot it.”
East Rochester (14-2) opened the season with 14 wins before falling to School of the Arts (48-45) over the past weekend.
“They jumped a lot of our weak passes,” said East Rochester head coach Jordan Koch. “Their guards fly all over the floor. We got to take better care of the ball because those guys are ball hawks. Any weak pass, they’re going to go get and sprint down the floor and finish.”
The two squads are at the top of the current unofficial Class C1 standings.
“Playing a program like Lyons, which is historically very good, shows us where we’re at and what we need to work on,” Koch said of the Lyons which has won 21 sectional titles. “Dean’s very good at exploiting weaknesses of the other team. We’ll go look at the film and see where he attacked us and what he made us do on offense and go from there. I hope that we see Dean down the road in sectionals.”
Johnson had 11 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Williams finished with seven steals and a game-high 22 points. Bell had 10 points, six assists and seven steals. LeBrecht accounted for 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Lyons finished with 20 team assists on 31 made field goals.
Landon Wollschleger headed the East Rochester offense with 10 points.
LYONS
Mikey Briggs 3 3-4 9, Darius Wood-Asberry 0 0-0 0, Dez Bell 4 0-2 11, Zavien Horn 2 0-0 4, Devyn Williams 9 2-4 22, Stephen LeBrecht 4 0-0 10, Jaheim Morris 2 0-0 4, Dominic Card 1 0-0 3, Jacob Bolt 1 0-0 3, Jamire “J.J.” Johnson 5 1-4 11, Connor Orlopp 0 0-0 0, Rhylen Thurston 0 0-0 0, Braden Bookmiller 0 0-0 0 TOTALS 30 6-14 — 77
EAST ROCHESTER
Marlo Henry 1 1-2 3, Raydavion Allen 4 0-6 8, Landon Wollschleger 3 3-4 10, Judah Tanner 2 0-0 5, Justin Allen 1 0-0 2, Jordan Nunn 2 3-4 7, Tyler Leisten 1 0-0 2, Eli Tanner 2 2-3 6, Noah Wollschleger 0 0-0 0, Dan Preston 2 1-2 5 TOTALS 18 10-21 48
LYONS 17 19 22 19 — 77
EAST ROCHESTER 10 12 10 16 — 48
3-point goals — Lyons 8 (Bell 2, Williams 2, LeBrecht 2, Card 1, Bolt 1); East Rochester 2 (L. Wollschleger 1, E. Tanner 1).
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