He’s atop No. 1 Lexington Catholic’s list of all-time scorers, and he’s got more goals ahead
Everyone in the gym knows Lexington Catholic’s Ben Johnson is going to get the ball. He has been the No. 1 Knights’ leading scorer three years straight.
But knowing what’s going to happen and stopping what’s going to happen are two distinctly different things. His shooting range seems limitless, his motor relentless, his ability to finish plays uncanny.
Thursday night, the 6-3 senior guard scored 32 points in a hard-fought 69-67 victory over Paul Laurence Dunbar and with that became the all-time leading scorer in Lexington Catholic boys’ basketball history. He surpassed Demetrius Green with 2,145 points and counting.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Johnson said of the points total. “Honestly, you know, there’s been some great, great basketball players that have come through here and to be at the top of that list, there’s nothing like it. It’s indescribable.”
Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman unabashedly promotes Johnson for Mr. Basketball, the highest individual honor bestowed on a Kentucky high school basketball senior each year. Nominations for 2021’s candidates have been made by coaches and media but they have not yet been announced by the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation.
Ranking among the top 10 scorers in Lexington basketball history can’t hurt his chances. Johnson now ranks eighth all-time on that list just behind Dunbar’s Darnell Burton. He’s also LexCath’s all-time leading three-point shooter, according to the school.
“He’s worked his tail off from the time he was 5 years old. And, you know, he’s a Kentucky kid who loves basketball,” Salsman said. “He’s a gym rat, and he’s just put up incredible numbers time and time again since he was in eighth grade. I’m so proud of him.”
A basketball family
Johnson is the youngest of three basketball playing brothers, all standouts at LexCath where their father, Danny, played three decades ago. The oldest, Tanner, went on to play at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Luke Johnson is a senior at Loyola University Maryland. Ben Johnson has committed to play at Bellarmine, which recently moved up to the NCAA’s Division I.
“(Ben) got to play varsity early, so, I think that really helped him,” said Danny Johnson, who along with his wife, Shannon, have watched their boys play at Lexington Catholic for a decade. “And having older brothers really helped him. I think he’d be the first to tell you that. He’s exceeded expectations, there’s no question about it.”
Dunbar Coach Scott Chalk has coached a number of the city’s all-time greats, including 2017 Mr. Basketball Taveion Hollingsworth, now at Western Kentucky. There’s no question Johnson is a great player, Chalk said.
“He’s a good leader, too. That’s what makes their team go,” Chalk said. “He helps people play above their ability, which is what you want from anybody who is your best player.”
Clutch plays against Dunbar
Dunbar did not make things easy on Johnson or his teammates Thursday. The vastly underrated Bulldogs (8-3), a 43rd District rival that has been beset by COVID-19 stoppages this season, jumped to a 12-4 lead on the Knights in the first quarter.
They responded to LexCath rallies with runs of their own all night. For example, two Johnson three-pointers that helped LexCath break out to a five-point lead in the second quarter were answered by three consecutive three-pointers from Dunbar’s Zach Carter that swung the lead by five points the other way.
Led by junior swingman Tim Hall’s 28 points, the Bulldogs led by as many as four points with under three minutes to go.
LexCath (15-0) needed all of its savvy and its full-court press to keep the game close. After a Jack Gohmann drive to tie the game got turned away under the basket, Blake Busson stole the ball from the Dunbar rebounder, eluded the defense as he got it under control and turned to find Gohmann coming back into the play across the court. Gohmann banked in a three-pointer from the left wing to put Lexington Catholic up 65-64 with 1:33 left.
From there, Johnson worked feverishly to shake off his harassing defender to get the ball off a screen and drive into the lane for the final go-ahead bucket with under a minute left.
“I wish it was coaching. I wish I could take a lot of credit for it, but that’s him,” Salsman said of Johnson’s determination to run off screens, get open and get to the basket. “He’s a coach on the floor. … He’s playing with four sophomores and he gets all of them to play incredibly hard, especially when it’s really down to the wire.”
Johnson made two 1-for-2 trips to the free-throw line to help secure the win. He would have rather made all his late free throws, but his team helped the small lead stand.
“Ben’s the school’s all-time leading scorer for a reason, and he helped us pull it out,” Gohmann said. “Full confidence, everyone wants the ball in his hands in the last minute.”
Tough road ahead
Because of COVID-19 stoppages and last week’s winter storm, Lexington Catholic still has a number of district games left to play to secure a No. 1 seed in the 43rd District tournament. Those include a back-to-back set with Tates Creek on Saturday and Monday and another game with Dunbar next Friday.
Then comes a matchup with North Laurel, the No. 2 team in the state behind LexCath, according to Associated Press media rankings. The Jaguars feature super sophomore Reed Sheppard.
Further ahead, the 11th Region tournament is sure to include No. 9 Frederick Douglass and teams who, like Dunbar, can beat anyone on any given night.
“We’re in the middle of what I would call a hell week,” Salsman said. “It’s gonna be tough going down the stretch. Everybody’s getting to where they’re playing their best basketball.”
Johnson was to be honored by Lexington Catholic ahead of their Friday night game against Covington Holy Cross.
The scoring mark and accolades are nice and Johnson said he will be happy with his high school career, regardless of what’s to come, but the primary objectives remain — a district title, a region title and a Sweet 16 championship.
“The only thing that will make it complete is a ring at the end of it,” Johnson said. “I want a ring. That’s the major goal.”
Highlights
Lexington’s top scorers
Career points leaders in Lexington boys’ high school basketball:
1. Julius Berry, 3,000 (Lexington Dunbar, 1959)
2. Kyle Rode, 2,517 (Lexington Christian, 2019)
3. Taveion Hollingsworth, 2,495 (Paul Laurence Dunbar, 2017)
4. Mike Allen, 2,408 (Bryan Station, 1989)
5. Jackson Davis, 2,343 (Lafayette, 2014)
6. Mike Smith, 2,324 (Sayre/Paul Laurence Dunbar, 2013)
7. Darnell Burton, 2,192 (Paul Laurence Dunbar, 1993)
8. Ben Johnson, 2,145 (Lexington Catholic, 2021)
9. Demetrius Green, 2,144 (Lexington Catholic, 2004)
10. Jaron Brown, 2,066 (Bryan Station, 1998)
Note: In past Herald-Leader stories about Lexington’s all-time leading high school scorers, the late Julius Berry of old Lexington Dunbar has been omitted with the stated reason being that records of his games during the state’s segregation era are incomplete. But in published reports on Berry, a Dawahare’s/KHSAA Hall of Famer, during his lifetime, he’s credited as scoring more than 3,000 points in his career. And KHSAA records list Berry with exactly 3,000 points. Dunbar was not a member of the KHSAA until Berry’s sophomore season.
