Scotch Plains Basketball Gets Road Win Against Conference Foe Clark

Senior forward Anthony Byers tallied 20 points and six rebounds as earned a key 65-57 road win over the Arthur L Johnson High School team Wednesday night in Clark. The back and forth game between the conference foes was tight throughout, with the final being the largest margin of any point in the game.

The Raiders used their press effectively to create opportunities on the other end. In total, the Crusaders were charged with a whopping 27 turnovers that proved to be the difference in this one. Despite the high turnover total the Crusaders were able to maintain a small lead for much of the first half

Scotch Plains was able to put 20 points on the board in the third quarter thanks to the lights out shooting of senior guard Ian Johnston. Johnston scored twelve quick points in the period all on three point baskets.

The speedy guard finished the game with 18 points and five three pointers made. Junior forward Thomas Bonacum added 11 points and 10 rebounds to record his first double double of the season. Point guard Dominic Gonzalez added 10 points to go along with four assists and did a great job of controlling the Raiders’ offense all night. 

Senior Samorri Johnson led all Crusaders scorers with 17 points including three baskets from beyond the arch. Senior forward Dan Hogan added 16 points for Johnson in the loss. Hogan was effective getting to the basket and showed a strong ability to finish in traffic and was the Highlanders most reliable scoring threat on the night.

Senior point guard John Caliguire also finished the game in double figures with 13 points. The Crusaders offense was able to take advantage of the Raiders’ early aggressiveness on the defensive end and find easy points.

The Raiders return to action next Wednesday when they host the Lions of Pope John in non-conference action. Johnson will look to get back on track tonight when they host the Brearley Bears in a conference match-up.

Scotch Plains- (Byers-20, Gonzalez-10, Bonacum-11, Johnston-18, Xavier Noel-Brooks-4, Kyrie Singletary-2)

Johnson- (Hogan-16, Johnson-17, Caliguire- 13, Dunn-4, Siessel-5, Banek-2)