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By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Keldon Johnson and Keyontae Johnson aren’t related, but their on-court presence resembled basketball brothers Saturday night in the Tournament of Champions title game.
The Johnsons shredded La Lumiere (Ind.) for a combined 47 points and 15 rebounds in Oak Hill’s 78-70 victory. Between them, the duo made 18 of 27 shot attempts.
“They play together. They’ve played together since like the 8th grade,” said Oak Hill coach Steve Smith. “They play AAU ball together in the spring and summer. They know each other’s game pretty well.”
The outcome gives Oak Hill its third Tournament of Champions title in four years. The Warriors are 9-0 all time in three tournament appearances.
“Coach Smith told us (Oak Hill) has never lost in this tournament, we didn’t want to be the first team to lose,” said Keyontae Johnson, who received tournament MVP honors. He finished with 24 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Warriors, a night after shooting 10 percent from 3-point range, made five of nine attempts from behind the perimeter and shot 27-for-44 from the field overall.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Oak Hill aggressively attacked La Lumiere’s zone defense and reaped the benefits. The Warriors were 19-for-26 at the free throw line compared to La Lumiere’s 8-for-10.
“We wanted to attack and not settle for jump shots,” Smith said. “They had a 3-2, 1-2-2 type zone and we thought we’d get it in the middle to Keldon in the second half. That’s what we did, and he made plays.”
Oak Hill led 31-23 at halftime and 54-41 entering the fourth quarter.
The Lakers (13-3 overall) crept within single digits multiple times in the final eight minutes, but Oak Hill sealed the victory by making 14 of its final 16 free throw attempts.
“We’ve had good success here, obviously, we’re 9-0,” Smith said. “Haven’t stubbed our toe yet.”
La Lumiere’s Isaiah Stewart had a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Oak Hill’s Keldon Johnson had 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Oak Hill improved to 27-0 overall.
The Warriors fly out of Springfield on Sunday morning and will play in Monday’s HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass., facing NSU University School (Fla.) at 2 p.m. ESPNU will broadcast the game.
“A lot of (people) didn’t think (Oak Hill) would be that great this year so for us to play together and win this, it means a lot and shows the progress we’re making,” said KeyontaeJohnson.
Oak Hill Academy 78, La Lumiere 70
Oak Hill 13 18 23 24 — 78
La Lumiere 8 15 18 29 — 70
Oak Hill – Keyontae Johnson 24, Keldon Johnson 23, David McCormack 12, Will Richardson 11, Eddy Kayouloud 4, Evan Johnson 4
La Lumiere – Isaiah Stewart 23, Tyger Campbell 15, Charles Smith IV 12, Paxon Wojcik 10, Grant Beucler 6, Franklin Agunanne 2, Emanuel Miller 2
All-Tournament Team
Keyontae Johnson, Oak Hill, MVP
Quinn Nelson, Ozark
Monty Johal, Glendale
Keldon Johnson, Oak Hill
David McCormack, Oak Hill
Isaiah Stewart, La Lumiere
Tyger Campbell, La Lumiere
Courtney Ramey, Webster Groves
Carte’Are Gordon, Webster Groves
Darius Garland, Brentwood Academy
Kofi Cockburn, Christ The King
Matt Bradley, Wasatch Academy
