Lancaster’s Golden Crown Tarnished

Sure, the Lancaster High boys’ basketball team won the Golden League championship.

But the Eagles still can’t beat rival Quartz Hill.

Tony Johnson nearly single-handedly made certain of that in the second half.

Johnson scored 17 of his 25 points after halftime for the Rebels in a 64-63 victory Friday night at Quartz Hill.

It was the second time this season Quartz Hill (17-6, 7-3 in league play), which finished in second place, defeated the Eagles (19-6, 8-2).

Johnson saved his best for the fourth quarter, when he scored 11 points, making all five of his free throws.

“In the first half it wasn’t falling for me,” Johnson said. “But in the second half I just tried to focus better.

“I started taking it to the hole and my shots started falling.”

Despite Johnson’s efforts, it was a defensive play that might have settled it for the Rebels.

After Michael Webb of Lancaster sank a three-point basket with two seconds remaining to make it 64-63, Devin Francis of Quartz Hill was called for traveling after he received the inbound pass.

Fortunately for Francis, it didn’t take long for him to redeem himself.

He stepped in front of a pass intended for Michael Wright and deflected the ball as time expired.

“It makes me feel so good about my teammates,” Johnson said. “We don’t get bugged. We battled all the way to the end.”

It was a devastating loss for Lancaster.

“We tried to step it up against a great team,” guard Aaron James said.

“What can I say? We were ready for them. They’ve just got our number.”

Not even a brilliant effort by James in the second half could save the Eagles.

James scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter.

Webb finished with 13 points.

In the end, though, the Eagles saw too much of Johnson, who had 10 rebounds and five assists.

“This is a great way to end our season,” Coach Bernard Nichter of Quartz Hill said. “Even though we didn’t win the league, we came in second by ourselves.

“It give us something to build on for the playoffs.”