Marcus Johnson switches gears against Richmond Heights (Video)

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio – Marcus Johnson shifted into a new gear Saturday night against Richmond Heights.

His team trailed by five points early in the fourth quarter of the final game of the NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic, and Johnson gave Garfield Heights a run for its money, scoring 22 of his 38 points for a 74-65 win.

“He has a walk that no one else can walk in,” said his father and coach Sonny Johnson.

See how the Ohio State commit did it. He added nine rebounds and four assists. Ari Jones scored 12 points while DJ Jackson scored 11 points with three 3-pointers.

Johnson hit five 3s, including two in the fourth. He also made all eight of his free throws in the final eight minutes.

Hear from him, Jackson and coach Sonny Johnson with highlights above.

The performance lifted Garfield Heights (7-0), ranked No. 2 in cleveland.com’s boys basketball top 25, with an early win over No. 8 Richmond Heights (3-3), which was playing year without Ohio State signing Dorian Jones.

Joey Emory led the Spartans with 20 points and Demarris Winters had 19. They hit 10 of their team’s 14 3s.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul via X (@mgoul), topics (@mgoul) or email ([email protected]).