Johnson Plays Feature Role in 64-51 Quartz Hill Victory

It’s hard to notice him at first, playing next to teammates who are an eye-catching 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-8.

But when a closer look is taken at Tony Johnson, his face looks vaguely familiar. Then his basketball ability takes over, truly setting him apart.

Johnson, a junior guard at Quartz Hill High and an actor who has appeared in several movies, was the center of attention Tuesday night at the Valencia boys’ basketball tournament, scoring 26 points in the Rebels’ 64-51 victory over Birmingham in a first-round game.

Johnson, who co-starred with Charlie Sheen in “The Arrival” and was also in “T-Rex” with Whoopi Goldberg, showed he has talent on the basketball court too, scoring 11 points in the first quarter and nine in the fourth to help Quartz Hill (6-1) advance to a quarterfinal game tonight against Lynwood.

Twin towers Sahael Almuallem and Jared Corpening get most of the pregame stares, but Johnson had the scoring touch at the end.

“You look at us and you look at our two big kids,” said Coach Bernard Nichter. “But our strengths are our guards.”

Johnson’s backcourt mate, Kevin Johnson, no relation, scored 11 points for the Rebels, who led by 10 at halftime and were never really threatened.

Mshak Ghazarian scored 17 points for Birmingham (2-3), which scored only nine points in the second quarter on three-of-13 shooting.

Tony Johnson made a baseline shot and a three-pointer on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter to give Quartz Hill a 54-39 lead, its biggest of the game.

It’s easy to see why Johnson, who plans to pursue acting as a career, was nearly selected to play the role of a teenage Michael Jordan in a recent cable-TV biography.

“To play Michael Jordan, that’s an honor I would have loved--I was a little disappointed I didn’t get it,” said Johnson, who was one of George Foreman’s sons on his television show.

“My time will come.”

Some would say it has arrived.

Ventura 56, Crespi 52--Tyler Ebell scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half and the Cougars upset the Celts.

Ebell, who rushed for more than 1,600 yards on the Cougars’ football team, made two free throws with five seconds left to give Ventura (3-3) a four-point lead.

Antwaine Richards made a three-pointer with one minute left to give Ventura a 54-52 lead, its first since early in the game.

Andrew Moore scored 35 points for Crespi (3-3), which led at the end of three quarters, 41-33.

The game was an about-face for Crespi, which played well against Simi Valley in a 68-61 loss last Saturday.

“That’s the frustrating part, how well we played then and how poorly we played today,” said Coach Dick Dornan of Crespi.

Littlerock 66, Reseda 45--Gene Myvett scored 25 points for the Lobos, who advanced to play Ventura in a quarterfinal game today.

After playing their first five games in rapid succession, the Lobos (5-2) had last week off. So far, the rest has suited them well.

“It seemed like we were always in game-day preparation,” said Coach Ben Dale of Littlerock. “We went back to fundamentals.”

Littlerock led Reseda (2-4) at halftime, 33-11.

Lynwood 88, Royal 48--The Highlanders played short-handed and came up short.

Five players, including four starters, did not play for Royal (1-4) because they were serving a one-game suspension for violating team rules.