By Josh Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Cameron Johnson never touched a basketball during the fall. Having already accepted a scholarship to play college football for the University of Virginia, Johnson had his sights set on helping Gonzaga win the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference in that sport.

The Eagles, though, went 4-5, and Johnson struggled.

Fortunately for the rugged, 6-foot-4 senior, the end of football season meant the start of basketball. And while he might not be in tip-top basketball shape, Johnson last night again showed that his biggest assets are his toughness and physical play. With second-ranked Gonzaga struggling, Johnson picked up the visiting Eagles and led them to a 70-62 victory over third-ranked O'Connell before a capacity crowd of 1,200 in Arlington.

Football season "didn't go as well as I thought it should," Johnson said. "We had a new coach, a new system. We did the best we could."

Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner has no complaints about his players spending their fall season on the gridiron.

"The last couple years, having more guys playing football has helped our team," Turner said, noting that Johnson is one of three football players on his team this season. "It's helped us become tougher, and that toughness they bring, when we need stops, carries over to all our players."

The season's first big game between top local teams brought several college coaches, scouts and recruiting types to the gym. They witnessed a physical, at times sloppy battle that saw O'Connell take a 29-24 halftime lead, which had Turner challenging his team in the locker room.

"In the first half, O'Connell did a great job being physical with us," Turner said. "They pushed us, they got the second chances. I told our guys: 'They're pushing you like you need to push them. If you don't come back and push -- being physical but not dirty -- they're going to run us out of the gym.' "

Enter Johnson, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Turner said the Eagles (5-0, 2-0) began going through Johnson in an effort to run their offense more efficiently. He inbounded to center Ian Hummer (18 points, 10 rebounds) for one basket, then drove and made a left-handed shot for another score as Gonzaga took a 39-33 lead.

"They were playing harder than us," Johnson said. "We took it as a challenge to come out and play hard at the end."

Forward Max Kenyi (14 points) had a pair of tip-ins later in the quarter, and Gonzaga answered every time that O'Connell (3-1, 0-1) tried to rally. Georgetown recruit Jason Clark finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for the Knights before fouling out with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

No. 2 Gonzaga 70 No. 3 O'Connell 62 Tough Road: O'Connell next plays Friday at No. 4 DeMatha before traveling to Las Vegas and Myrtle Beach, S.C., for holiday tournaments. Gonzaga hosts the D.C. Classic this weekend and then travels to Charleston, S.C. Making Them Count: Gonzaga made just one field goal in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles were stellar from the line, going 9 of 10 during that stretch and 26 of 34 for the game. No. 2 Gonzaga 70 No. 3 O'Connell 62 Tough Road: O'Connell next plays Friday at No. 4 DeMatha before traveling to Las Vegas and Myrtle Beach, S.C., for holiday tournaments. Gonzaga hosts the D.C. Classic this weekend and then travels to Charleston, S.C. Making Them Count: Gonzaga made just one field goal in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, but the Eagles were stellar from the line, going 9 of 10 during that stretch and 26 of 34 for the game.