Johnstown boys basketball eliminates Buckeye Valley

• Jason Carter had 29 points%2C 27 rebounds and six blocks.

JOHNSTOWN – Few would have disputed the choice of Jason Carter as the Central District Division II Player of the Year.

Anybody left on the fence, however, should be moving off after Thursday's game. Carter found a way to top his dominating season, scoring 29 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in an eye-popping performance against visiting Buckeye Valley in a second-round game.

The Johnnies (20-3) beat the Barons (15-8) 64-42 to advance to the district semifinals for the second consecutive season. The Johnnies led 10-0, and it was never in doubt in large part because of the 6-foot-6 junior.

"Jason had an outstanding game," senior guard Travis Higgins said. "I have never seen that before."

Johnstown plays either Granville or Beechcroft at 7 p.m. Wednesday at a site to be determined. The Johnnies swept the Blue Aces during the regular season.

In the first round, Carter put the Johnnies on his back and rallied them from a 22-7 deficit against DeSales. On Thursday, Carter and his teammates went to work right from the start.

Cody Farley twice turned steals into layups, and he then assisted on Kaden Welch's 3-pointer to give Johnstown its 10-0 lead. Carter scored nine of Johnstown's next 11, and the Johnnies led 21-8 after one quarter.

"Them hitting shots opens up stuff for me," Carter said. "We executed our game plan on the defensive side as well."

Buckeye Valley attempted to spread out Johnstown to create driving lanes and opportunities for open jump shots. The Johnnies, however, never gave them breathing room, and Carter patrolled the middle grabbing every errant shot.

Carter averages an area-best 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. He was at 19 and 19 when he went to the bench for the final 30 seconds of the first half.

"I was just attacking the boards, and the ball went to wherever I was it seemed like," Carter said. "It just felt great to get all of those. ... I really didn't know (my statistics). I knew I was getting everything, but I was just playing and trying to win the game."

Carter's six blocks contributed to the Barons' 26 percent shooting. The Barons just twice this season scored fewer than Thursday's 42 points.

"I'm a defensive guy, and this team all year long has bought into what I ask them to do on the defensive end," Johnstown coach Kevin Martin said. "They get it. They get the way I want them to play, and they get the way I want them to guard. It is easier to guard that way when you have someone like Jason that can clean up mistakes."

Higgins added 14 points and Farley eight points and three assists for Johnstown, which held a 43-24 rebounding edge and shot 47 percent from the field.

"Those four seniors are the glue to what we do," Martin said. "We have a great player in Jason, but those four seniors and the guys that play for us off the bench, they make us go."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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