Dragons’ balanced attack foils Johnson’s career-high effort

Amy Paterson / photo editor JMU sopohmore guard Ray Barbosa looks for freshman center Gabriel Chami on the inbounds play Saturday afternoon against Drexel. The Dukes are winless against the Dragons.

Despite similar signs of dominance Saturday, Drexel University center Sean Brooks and JMU sophomore forward Cavell Johnson were on two completely different basketball teams.

Brooks and Johnson scored 17 of the game’s 34 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half — at times trading basket for basket. In the end, Drexel’s 75-66 win was the byproduct of a team whose offensive load was shared.

"He’s a talented player," JMU coach Dean Keener said of Brooks. "He’s an All-Conference guy and he has three or four shooters out there who can spread you out, so it’s difficult."

Brooks finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds in 26 minutes.

"He was able to get the ball in pretty good position," Keener said. "There were times when we doubled and he found the outside man."

That outside man was either forward Jeremiah King or guard Phil Goss. King scored 15 points, tying him with Brooks for second-most on the team. Goss led Drexel with 19.

"You’re playing a good team," Keener said. "That’s a team that can put four seniors on the floor, good perimeter shooters and a guy like Brooks down low."

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Johnson, who tallied a game- season- and career-high 30 points, despite being guarded by multiple defenders.

"I had no idea that many people were going to guard me," Johnson said. "It was an in-game adjustment. I just tried to play my game."

Johnson’s game resulted in a 13-18 showing from the floor and seven rebounds.

"Cavell was a big difference," Drexel coach Bruiser Flint said. "They tried to high-low us and we didn’t have any answer."

But the Dragons did have an answer for the rest of the JMU offense. Aside from Johnson, the Dukes shot 25 percent from the floor. Junior guard Jomo Belfor was the only other JMU player in double figures with 13 points.

Sophomore guard Ray Barbosa, who scored 28 against Drexel Jan. 29, was held to 9. The Colonial Athletic Association’s fourth-highest scorer was limited to one field goal — a 3-pointer with 3:24 left in the game. The rest of his points came from the free throw line.

"When someone goes off on you like that you take it to heart," Goss said of Barbosa. "It was motivation."