Sophomore guard Kris Johnson broke his own program record for three-pointers in a game with nine in leading the Eastern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team past Albertus Magnus College, 107-58 Thursday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
The 6-foot-1 inch Johnson led all players with a career-high 31 points – the most by an Eastern (8-14) player this year. He was 7-for-11 from three-point range in scoring 23 points in the first halt, tied his own program record with his eighth three-pointer on a pass from sophomore guard Shiwon Davis with 7:03 left, then broke the mark with his ninth on a pass from sophomore guard Saliym Davis with 5:58 left that gave the Warriors a 92-40 lead. Johnson was 9-for-16 from three-point range in the game, 10-for-17 overall.
Johnson, who has a team-high 45 three-pointers this year in 16 games (2.8 per game), had tied the game record with seven three-points Jan. 21 at UMass Boston, then broke it a week later when he converted eight of 13 at the University of Southern Maine. He is 11 three-pointers shy of the individual program season record of 56, set last year by Mark Bartunek. This year, Johnson is shooting 44.6 per cent on 101 three-point attempts.
Behind Johnson, Eastern broke the program team game record for three-pointers with 17 on 35 attempts (48.6 per cent). The old record was 13 and had been achieved four times, most recently last Feb. 15 at Keene State College. Seven different players contributed a three-pointer. Ten different players also chipped in with at least one assist – led by junior forward Leon Martin’s career-high total of five – as the Warriors compiled a season-high total of 25 helpers.
Martin was 6-for-6 from the floor to add 12 points with junior guard Geoffrey Richardson (HARTFORD) adding ten points. He was 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from three-point range for the Warriors, who have won three of their last five.
Freshman forward Bobby Leonzo and junior center Bill Rose both posted double-doubles for Albertus (8-14), which starts three freshmen. Leonzo had 19 poiints and ten rebounds, Rose 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Freshman forward Shawn Mendenhall added ten points for the Falcons, who have dropped six straight and fall to 2-15 all-time against Eastern.
Eastern hosts Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday at 3 p.m. in a Little East Conference game.