By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The drive between Monroe High and the Lyons Central School District is roughly 55 minutes.
Given Thursday night’s forecast with the possibility of snow squalls and the stretch of Route 104 through Wayne County may add a little more time to that trek.
It doesn’t matter.
Zac Young and the Lyons boys’ basketball squad will enjoy the ride regardless of how long it takes.
Jamire Johnson led three in double figures with 24 points as the Lions (11-1), playing up three classes, built a double-digit lead then held on for a 68-63 win over the host Redjackets (4-2).
“That’s a good win,” Young said. “A great test for us.”
An end-to-end battle had Lyons leading by one at half after a second quarter that saw six ties and five lead changes. Johnson and Contrell Parker Jr. combined for 13 points in the third quarter when the Lions used a 20-9 advantage to take a 12-point lead.
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“We struggled with the (defensive) pressure early, and we started adjusting,” Young said. “It proves that we can play this style and play some of the big boys.”
Parker sparked a 14-1 run with a basket in the lane. Johnson added a bucket in the post, and Stephen LeBrecht got in the act with a basket of his own.
The next time Parker scored, on a feed from LeBrecht, the Lions led 50-40.
The lead stretched to 14 early in the fourth when Parker finished a spectacular reverse layup in which the senior attacked the basket from the left side. When Monroe’s Brien Walker took away the lane, Parker went up and under, came out on the other side of the rim and put the ball high off the glass with a back spin to lay it in.
In all, five different players scored in the quarter with Kaywon Butler and Ben Bookmiller also contributing.
It would be easy to understand if the Lions became dependent upon Johnson. The 6-foot-5 senior center with a soft touch around the basket draws plenty of attention from opposing defenses, but the Lions have developed a balance on offense that spreads out opponents.
“Last year the emphasis was that he needs to touch the ball every time we get it,” Young said. “We certainly want to keep him active. The last two games we’ve done a better job of feeding him. Like any big man, when he gets the ball, he stays more engaged. But we have other talented players.
“Getting the kids to buy into moving the ball. A lot of times, we want to go off the dribble. When you can move the ball and attack, we did a really good job of attacking baseline tonight, good things can happen.”
The win was the sixth straight for the Lions whose only loss was a 67-65 setback to Geneva – currently the top team in Class A.
“We’re just trying to get better throughout the year, game by game,” Young said. “I think we are slowly.”
Johnson finished with 20 rebounds in the win. Parker had 11 points, seven steals and five rebounds. LeBrecht accounted for 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
Johnson sealed the win when he connected on a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining.
Monroe’s Tah’Jier Holmes scored nine of his 12 in the fourth quarter. The junior guard converted a steal and layup as part of a 10-2 run to open the frame as the Redjackets pulled within six at 58-52 after a putback slam from Walker.
Holmes connected on a corner three to make it a 65-61 game with less than 20 seconds remaining. He made it a one-possession game at 66-63 with a pair from the charity stripe.
For Monroe, it’s been a season of playing catch-up. After the school’s football team went undefeated and won the NYS Class B title, the Redjackets didn’t open the current campaign until January 6th.
“Lyons is solid, they’re a good team,” said Monroe head coach Terrell Cunningham who also led the school’s football team in the fall. “We’re trying to find our way. Right now it’s a matter of finding our rotation, seeing who meshes and who clicks. It’s the little things like that.”
Navareon Patton led Monroe with 16 points. Anthony Omebe and Walker scored 10 apiece.
Monroe hosts World of Inquiry on Friday night.
Lyons travels to play York on Saturday.
LYONS (68)
Stephen LeBrecht 6 1-4 13, Stavell LeBrecht 1 2-4 4, Kaywon Butler 1 3-4 5, Contrell Parker Jr. 5 0-0 11, Ben Bookmiller 1 0-0 2, Austin Rice 1 0-0 2, Jah’Zyree Smith 3 1-2 7, Jamire Johnson 9 6-8 24 TOTALS 27 13-22 — 68
MONROE (63)
Navareon Patton 5 4-5 16, Tah’Jier Holmes 4 2-2 12, John Hardy 4 0-0 9, Jordan Reis 2 0-2 5, Anthony Omebe 5 0-0 10, Brien Walker 5 0-0 10, Jordan Thomas 0 1-2 1 TOTALS 25 7-12 — 63
LYONS 17 17 20 14 — 68
MONROE 17 16 9 21 — 63
3-point goals: LYONS 1 (Contrell Parker, Jr. 1); MONROE 6 (Patton 2, Holmes 2, Hardy 1, Reis 1).
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