SUGAR HILL, GA – Johnson High’s basketball team has always been driven by its offense, which energizes its defense.

The Knights was clicking like a well-oiled engine Tuesday night in the Class AAAA Region 8 championship. This allowed them to pick up the defensive intensity before earning its consecutive title with an 88-67 victory over top-seeded Eastside at Lanier High.

“I’m happier they beat us earlier in the year,” Johnson coach Jeff Steele said after the game. “They gave us a lot of motivation..”

The Knights lost 62-57 on Janurary 24 at Eastside.

Johnson made sure it was going to set the tone from the opening tip. The Knights went inside and gutted the Eagles interior with James Hodges. This senior forward dominated the interior scoring Johnson’s offense soon took off from there.

The Knights (23-5) pushed the ball down the court with lightning speed. Hodges inside. Senior Carter Cagle from three-point range. Juniors Ty Cockfield and Roderick English slashing to the paint. For good measure senior Justin Jones was a sniper from three-point range off the bench. All the while, senior point guard Drew Dunham orchestrated this synergy the entire first quarter.

Johnson held a 20-point lead in the first quarter before it finished the first eight minutes of the game with a 28-14 lead.

This was a blow Eastside would not recover from the rest of the game.

“(James) has that old man game,” Steele said. “He’s an enigma. He wore them down. My kids are hungry. They have a lot of pride.”

Hodges finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Cockfield led with a team-high 23 points. Jones poured in 18 points. English chipped in with 11 points. Carter had nine.

It did not matter what the Eagles tried to do defensively. This was in part due to the Knights ability to get the ball up the floor before Eastside had the opportunity to set up its press.

“I’ll go up and down with you with my kids,” Steele said.

Eastside tried but fatigue eventually set in followed by frustration. However, there were several Eagles players who were trying to get their team back in the game.

Anthony Henderson attacked the rim but was constantly met by several blue Knights defenders. He finished with a team-high 13 points. Treyvon Francis added 12 points but everything was contested.