Eventful day for Johnson

JOE SANTORO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 1/10/2007
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Hug�s Armon Johnson goes up for two points over Reno�s Roger Carlson (5) and Cavin Hill during their game Tuesday night at Hug High. Johnson scored 33 points in the 76-75 Hawks� win, and became the state�s all-time leading scorer.

Armon Johnson began the night by making history. He ended it by making memories.

"It was the perfect night," the Hug Hawks senior said, smiling.

Johnson's first basket of the night 20 seconds into the game gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead and gave the 6-foot-3 guard the state record for points scored in a career, breaking a tie with Las Vegas' Fred Thompson at 2,122 points.

His final basket of the evening -- a 3-pointer at the buzzer -- gave Hug a heartstopping 76-75 victory over the Reno Huskies at Hug High.

"Getting the record is a great accomplishment," Johnson said. "But the most important thing was getting the victory."

Johnson finished with 33 points with 14 coming in the fourth quarter. The University of Nevada recruit has averaged 38 points a game over his last five games.

"Armon is as good as any high school player I've seen play around here," said Reno coach Kyle Schellin, a Carson High graduate. "Nobody has played better than Armon is playing right now."

Reno, which fell behind 41-28 at halftime, took a 75-73 lead on a 3-pointer by Roger Carlson with 4.1 seconds to play. Carlson, who finished with 15 points, lofted his shot from about 25 feet out at the top of the key. The 3-pointer gave Reno its first lead since Austin Morgan's layup gave them a 14-12 lead with a minute to play in the first quarter.

"Roger Carlson is probably the best passer in the Northern 4A," Hug coach Brian Voyles said. "He's also a good shooter but we were just trying to take away his vision. I was a little surprised he shot it that early but it was probably a smart thing on his part because he gave them time enough to get a rebound in case he missed."

"I wasn't upset at that at all," said Schellin of Carlson's deep 3-pointer. "Yes, it was from 25 feet but it was an open shot. I didn't have a problem with it."

The only problem with the shot was that it gave Johnson four seconds to play hero. The Hawks inbounded the ball to the state's all-time leading scorer and Johnson streaked up the left side of the court with Morgan all over him.

"He was going to find one of his teammates if they were open," Voyles said. "And he would have, if they were open."

"There was no doubt who was going to take that last shot, was there?" Schellin said with a smile.

Johnson dribbled to the middle of the court as he approached the 3-point line as the clock ticked away. Morgan was still in his face.

"You can't do a better job than what he (Morgan) did," Voyles said. "I knew Armon was going to get the shot off. He can elevate and always get his shot off."

With Morgan in his chest and the clock evaporating, Johnson didn't really have time to find a teammate.

"Oh, no," he said. "I had to take my shot."

The Hug fans erupted out onto the court and drove Johnson to the far corner of the gym in celebration. Voyles later went to Schellin and apologized for how much the Hawk fans reacted to the game-winning shot.

"I couldn't get away," Johnson said. "The fans were amazing. I wanted to get away so I could shake hands (with the Huskies) but I just couldn't. There was too many people."

Johnson's shot left the Hawks at 12-3 overall and 2-0 in the Sierra League. Reno is now 12-5 and 2-1 in the Sierra.

The Huskies, which won the Class 4A state title last year, also got 25 points from Olek Czyz. Czyz, a junior, scored 13 points in the third quarter as the Huskies rallied from their 13-point halftime deficit.

"I wasn't unhappy with anything that happened in the second half," Schellin said. "We just dug too big a hole in the first half."

Reno committed seven turnovers in the first quarter and then made just 3-of-15 shots in the second quarter.

"We missed a lot of layups," Schellin said. "But we came out and played well in the second half."

And then came the final four seconds.

"The thing that is the most impressive about Armon is how he plays with so much confidence," Schellin said. "There is almost an aura around him. He just knows he's going to win the game. Tonight he just wouldn't let his team lose."

Johnson now has 2,155 career points with about six weeks left in the season.

"I've been working hard for a night like this my whole life," Johnson said. "Getting the scoring record is great and I want to keep it for a long time. And winning this game was even better. The Reno-Hug rivalry is amazing."