With the win, Coast Guard raises its record to 11-4 overall, 3-3 in the NEWMAC. Springfield, meanwhile, falls to 5-13 overall, 1-5 in the conference.
Johnson, a 6-5 sophomore forward from Medford, Oregon, led a balanced attack for the Bears with his 19 points. He also added 8 rebounds and was 5-for-8 from the field and 9-for-13 from the free throw line. Behind him were 5-10 sophomore guard Al Sowers (Monrovia, Md./St. John’s School) with 16 points (and 7 rebounds and 3 assists), 6-2 sophomore guard Grant Johnson (Grayson, Ga./Parkview HS) with 15 points, and 6-5 sophomore forward Jeff Prebeck (Columbus, Ind./Columbus East HS) with 12 points.
For Springfield, the leading scorer was senior guard Derek Yvon (East Longmeadow, Mass./Cathedral HS) with 16 points (and 7 rebounds), followed by 6-5 senior forward Brian Riley (Worcester, Mass./St. Mary’s HS) with 15 points (and a team-high 8 rebounds), and 6-3 senior forward Mike DeCesar (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough HS) with 11 points (and 7 rebounds).
The teams jockeyed back and forth at the beginning, but SC would lead by as many as 10 in the first half (29-19) following a lay-up by Riley with 4:04 remaining. A free throw by Craig Johnson with 8 seconds left capped a 9-0 run for CGA to cut it to one. But a rare 3-pointer by 6-7 sophomore forward Gregg Daly (Farmington, Conn./Farmington HS) gave SC a 4-point lead at the half, 32-28.
Neither team shot all that well at the half, Springfield at .412 (14-of-34), and Coast Guard at .379 (11-of-29). Craig Johnson scored 11 of his 19 points in that half.
In the second half, SC led by as many as 11 points (40-29) when Riley made a lay-up with 18:17 left. The Pride would still lead by 9 (51-42) with 12:26 remaining following a lay-up by Yvon.
But when Sowers made a 3-pointer with 7:18 left to cap an 18-7 run for the Bears, Coast Guard led by 2 (60-58).
There were four more lead changes. With 2:08 left, Sowers made two free throws to give CGA a 69-65 lead. Yvon made two free throws of his own to cut the lead to 69-67 with 1:56 to go. And when DeCesar hit a 3-pointer with 1:01 left, SC had its last lead at 70-69.
DeCesar then fouled Craig Johnson with 41 seconds left, and the big forward came through with 2 free throws, giving CGA the lead for good. Springfield had two shots to take the lead in the next 26 seconds, but could not convert. Riley was forced to foul Grant Johnson with 10 seconds left, and Grant calmly sank two free throws.
Following an SC timeout, the Pride had one final attempt, but a 3-pointer by 6-3 junior forward Damian Farley (Natick, Mass./Natick HS) rimmed out, allowing Coast Guard to sweep the Pride this season, 2-0. Just 17 days ago in New London, Coast Guard defeated Springfield, 76-62. SC also had a halftime lead in that contest (10 points).