Led by senior guard Charles Johnson’s dominating 31-point performance, Carver defeated Seton 89-76 in front of its home crowd in a Class 2A regional semifinal.
Seton jumped out to a quick 10-3 run, but it was all Carver after that. The Challengers, who took a 39-32 lead into half time, opened the third quarter with a 19-7 run.
After scoring just nine points in the first half, Johnson took it upon himself to get going in the second half.
“It’s the playoffs and this could have been our last game so I stepped up,” said Johnson.
Carver head Coach Kevin Brown wasn’t sure how his team would come out after a two-week layoff since playing in the Public League Tournament.
“I was worried about the rust, but we’ve had really good practices,” said Brown. “Chuck had it going tonight. If he go, then we go as well.”
Henry Tiggs added 18 points and blocked three shots for the Challengers.
Christopher Seaton scored 32 points and Eron Evans added 20 for the Sting.
Seton head coach Justin Domingo said his team played a roller coaster game and couldn’t take advantage of missed opportunities.
“We couldn’t convert when we got stops and missed layups killed our momentum,” said Domingo. “We played a great team, they are well-coached and they played hard.”
Carver will host the winner of Fenger and Illiana Christian on Friday, February 28 at 7 p.m.
