Boys Basketball | Oak Lawn tops Richards in crosstown tilt

By Steve Millar 
Correspondent

After Oak Lawn, in its final home game of the season, handily defeated crosstown rival Richards, the Spartans celebrated their second consecutive South Suburban Red championship by cutting down one of the nets in their gym.

Oak Lawn had clinched the conference title outright when Evergreen Park lost to Hillcrest on Feb. 3, but with the crosstown contest against the Bulldogs four days later being its first home game since, a party was certainly in order. The Spartans had never previously won back-to-back conference championships.

Taking down the Bulldogs, 70-56, made it an even more special night. After the nets were cut down, Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes got reflective.

“To think about where were 10 or 12 years ago as a program and, if you reflect on it a little bit, things have kind of flipped,” Rhodes said. “We beat [Richards] on all three levels. There were some years where Richards was blowing us out and we didn’t have any chance for a conference championship. So, it’s kind of cool to think about.”

Corey Lee led the Spartans (20-9, 10-3) with 18 points. Robert Wagner added 11 points, and Eduardo Chiquito and Henry Martinez scored 11 points each, with Chiquito adding seven rebounds. Ayham Salah chipped in nine points.

Camren King paced Richards (10-19, 4-9) with 16 points and six rebounds. Eddie Hrebic scored 15 points and La-Terion Colbert added 13 points.

For Oak Lawn’s seniors, it was the perfect final home game.

“It feels good to come away with the win,” Salah said. “It was expected. This was our last home game ever for the Spartans, so it means a lot to get the win.”

“Ending the season off at home with a ‘W’ against Richards, the crosstown team, it feels great,” Lee added.

In front of a packed gym with big crowds from both sides of town, Oak Lawn closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 19-8 lead. Chiquito hit a 3-pointer and Lee converted a 3-point play.

Richards pulled within 19-10 on a basket from King to open the second quarter, but Chiquito countered with an inside score and the Spartans led by double digits the rest of the night.

Oak Lawn led 39-23 at halftime and by as many as 21 points early in the third. Richards fought back within 54-44 in the final minute of the third but got no closer. Wagner capped the third quarter with a putback and the Spartans cruised through the fourth quarter.

“We had our chances,” Richards coach Kyle Rathbun said. “We missed quite a few layups.

“We’re still young and learning,” he continued, noting freshman Marcus Jennings is a starter. “We have to continue learning how to win. We had our opportunities tonight and we just didn’t take advantage.”

King continued to be a bright spot for the Bulldogs. The junior guard/forward has been a steady presence and producer all season.

“Camren has been great,” Rathbun said. “He’s been wonderful. During the game, he kind of leads us by example. He goes about his business. I think a lot of guys follow his lead.”

Oak Lawn, meanwhile, continues to thrive with a deep roster of guys who have fun playing together, according to Wagner.

“We put a lot of trust in each other,” Wagner said. “When we started coming out at the start of the season, we had some chemistry, but there were a lot of juniors and new guys on the squad. Once we all came together, we started playing great together and enjoying playing together.”

The Spartans followed with another win Feb. 10, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter to rally past host Tinley Park, 62-57.

Salah scored 20 points, while Wagner and Lee had 14 points each.

Oak Lawn closed the week with a 69-66 loss Saturday at Riverside-Brookfield. Lee poured in 26 points in the defeat to the talented Bulldogs (24-5). Chiquito scored 14 points.

Richards, meanwhile, bounced back to pull off an overtime thriller Friday night at Argo, winning 78-75.

King led the way with 21 points.

The Bulldogs fell 67-45 to Stagg on Saturday despite 15 points from King. Colbert and Hrebic added eight points each.