When it comes to leadership, junior Asa Johnson just may be a natural for Aurora Christian.
That includes on the football field and the basketball court.
In the fall, Johnson was thrust into the role as the starting quarterback when the former starter, also a junior, transferred. He didn’t miss a beat, leading the Eagles to a state playoff berth.
A similar scenario played has played out this winter. Two of Aurora Christian’s four sophomore starters from last season’s basketball team that finished fourth in the state in Class 1A transferred.
As returning starters, it was up to Johnson, a 6-foot-4 forward, and 6-0 junior guard Jacob Baumann to take up the leadership slack for the Eagles.
“We came into it knowing we can’t be dreading who we lost the whole time or dwelling on it,” Johnson said of a roster with just one senior. “We have a bunch of young kids who were looking to us for leadership and who wanted to win. We had to work hard, especially on defense.”
A work in progress, Aurora Christian has done pretty well this season.
In Friday’s final tune-up for next week’s start to the playoffs, Johnson posted an impressive double-double of 21 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Eagles to a 66-61 win over visiting Plano.
A small and scrappy Class 3A team, the Reapers put just one player taller than 6-0 on the floor in 6-1 junior forward Kevin Martinez.
Baumann, who made three 3-pointers, finished with 18 points and senior forward Landon Schuster added 11 points for Aurora Christian (14-11).
“We’re always on the edge,” Plano coach Kyle Kee said. “It seemed we were getting into them but just didn’t turn them over enough.”
Sophomore guard Ethan Taxis scored 17 points to lead the Reapers (17-14), who forced 14 turnovers in the second half. Senior guard Gabe Steele added 15 points and senior guard Vinny Cesario had 13.
The Reapers cut the deficit to 64-61 during the fourth quarter and Cesario attempted a game-tying 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining, but Johnson grabbed the rebound and the momentum.
On a rough shooting night for Cesario, he put Plano in position at the end.
“Still, Vinny had that three to tie it up,” Kee said with a nod.
Equally impressive for Johnson?
He committed his third foul with 5:57 remaining in the third quarter and then a fourth foul with 6:21 left in the game but didn’t even leave the floor.
“I knew I had to be careful and understand the situation,” Johnson said. “Toward the beginning of the year, I wasn’t really in shape, so I wasn’t getting in position like I should on defense, leading to fouls I shouldn’t have been getting.
“As the season went on, I got in better shape and understood that defense wins, and it has helped me out.”
Baumann and Johnson each made 1 of 2 free throws in the final 16 seconds to close it out for the Eagles, who managed to make just 10 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“Probably a little heavy legs,” Aurora Christian coach Dan Beebe said. “They came at us hard and the kids played a lot of minutes, but they gutted it out and came away with a win.”
The key, of course, was Johnson.
“We’ve leaned heavily on Asa and Jacob because they’re our two returners from the state run,” said Beebe, who knew he was playing with fire leaving Johnson in the game. “Asa has been extremely consistent and played well in so many facets of the game.
“I looked at him and said, ‘You’ve got four.’ I trust my kids and he knows what the situation is. He’s made a lot of big plays for us.”
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