Boys Hoops | Chargers hand Spartans first loss

By Xavier Sanchez
Correspondent

Through six years as head coach at Stagg, Marty Strus and the Chargers had never beaten Oak Lawn.

That changed in lucky year number seven, as the Chargers topped the Spartans, 49-42, on Dec. 14 in Palos Hills. The victory knocked Oak Lawn from the ranks of the unbeaten, after the Spartans had started the season with nine consecutive wins.

There was a playoff-type energy in the Stagg gym, both from the fans and the student athletes on the court. The two area programs, separated by roughly 4 miles of primarily Southwest Highway, have played annually beginning with the 2007-2008 season. Stagg won the first 10 games in the series before dropping the last six.

“It’s been a wall we’ve been trying to break through for years,” Strus said after the game.

The Chargers (9-2, 1-1 SouthWest Suburban Red) followed that with a 69-61 win at home over Barrington and are off to their best start after 11 games since 2016-2017 (9-2).

Oak Lawn (9-1, 3-0 South Suburban Red) struggled to get shots to fall early and spent the first five minutes scoreless. The Spartans’ aggressive defense limited the damage and they led, 8-6, after one quarter.

The Chargers held an 18-17 advantage at halftime, after Domas Narcevicius grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on a put-back in the waning seconds of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Stagg’s David Ortiz and Tarik Barakat hit clutch threes and Connor Williams scored six of his 16 points, including 4-of-4 on free-throws, to help the Chargers open the game up to a 32-25 entering the final quarter.

But Oak Lawn had no plans of letting their undefeated season come to end without a fight. A steal and basket by junior guard Donte Montgomery with under four minutes to go tied the game at 37.

The Chargers led 41-40 late in the game, and Williams and Gilmore spent the closing minutes hitting free-throws to extend the lead.

Gilmore finished with a game-high 18 points. Williams had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two assists, two steals and a block.

Montgomery was the Spartans lead scorer with 17 points and also had four steals. Corey Lee was the only other Spartan to score in double digits, finishing with 14 points while grabbing six rebounds.

Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes spoke highly of Montgomery.

“He can be very disruptive defensively when he wants to,” he said. “He reads the game really well.”

The Chargers held the Spartans to a season-low 42 points.

“They did a great job disrupting our rhythm offensively,” Rhodes said.

Gilmore was not happy with the Chargers’ 67-65 loss to Andrew earlier in the week.

“We realized that was something that should not have happened and we decided to play hard and fight back,” Gilmore said.

Gilmore and Williams scored 16 of Stagg’s 17 fourth quarter points. Strus applauded his guys for being leaders on the court.

“Their presence matters,” he said. “When things are going wrong, other guys on the floor look to them. If their body language is slumping and not ready, and not looking ready to respond, it will fester through the team. If their shoulders are back and ready to compete, then everyone else is going to be ready.

“If anyone is questioning their toughness after tonight, they are crazy.”