By Steve Millar
Correspondent
Evergreen Park coach Jim Sexton knows he has a team capable of putting up big offensive numbers behind a bevy of strong shooters.
That just has not happened consistently this season for the Mustangs, who have struggled to score more often than not.
The offense, however, had a breakout performance last week against one of the state’s top teams. Evergreen Park hit 13 3-pointers and put a scare into Hillcrest before coming up short in a 73-62 home loss in a South Suburban crossover Jan. 27.
Freshman guard Lonnie Mosley poured in 23 points for the Mustangs (14-12, 5-5 SSC Red). Ulises Cardenas scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers while Nolan Sexton contributed eight points and six rebounds.
Despite the defeat, Jim Sexton said there were plenty of reasons to be encouraged.
“We’ve struggled shooting the ball lately, so seeing us break out of that was nice to see,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to finish around the basket and hit those threes. If we can make more shots, with the way we’re playing defensively we’ll have a good shot to get some wins.”
The first three quarters against the Hawks were back-and-forth, with Hillcrest (24-2, 11-0 SSC Blue) unable to shake the Mustangs.
Evergreen Park briefly took a 49-48 lead on a Cardenas 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter. A dunk from Akron recruit Darrion Baker gave the Hawks a 50-49 edge heading into the fourth.
The Mustangs struggled to stop Hillcrest down the stretch. Mosley’s 3-pointer pulled Evergreen Park within 61-57 with 3:42 to go, but the Hawks scored the next eight points to pull away.
“I think both teams were tired at the end and they obviously have a little more depth than we do, so I think that hurt us,” Jim Sexton said. “We’re in the same sectional with them, so maybe we’ll see them again. We played 3½ good quarters of basketball and hung in there, but they’re really tough to beat.”
Mosley continued his impressive freshman season. He scored 10 points in the first quarter to spark the Mustangs.
“Lonnie, playing against a team like Hillcrest as a freshman, he was awesome,” Jim Sexton said. “Lonnie is a really big-game player. He’s tough. He’s got a really good basketball IQ. He lives for games like that.
“We debated when he was coming in, knowing he was a great grade-school player, if we’d play him at varsity right away. Then we saw him over the summer and we knew for sure he’d play and he’d be in our rotation. He’s not only done that but he’s started, I think, every game for us and he plays pretty much every minute.”
Mosley’s older brother, Isaiah, helped battle the taller Hawks inside. The 6-foot-3 senior played tough defense despite getting into foul trouble and provided five points. Junior Billy Buchanan pulled down eight rebounds.
“We’ve done a good job of rebounding against bigger teams,” Jim Sexton said. “Billy and Isaiah did a great job and then our guards, our whole group, does a good job of coming back and helping out on the boards. There were a few times where their length got us and they got some offensive rebounds, but we did a good job for the most part.
“We’ve developed a good amount of toughness on this team.”
The Mustangs took another tough loss Saturday at the Hoop it Up Classic, hosted by Perspectives-Leadership. Evergreen Park fell 66-63 to Perspectives-Math and Science.
However, there was a major milestone in the defeat as Nolan Sexton scored 25 points to top 1,000 for his career and become the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Lonnie Mosley added 14 points and Isaiah Mosley scored 12 points.