There are nights when what looks like a laugher at halftime turns serious.
Jan. 21 was one of those nights for Oak Lawn, and while the Spartans hung on to knock off TF North in the Meteors’ gym, the 65-61 final score in the South Suburban crossover was closer than anyone on the visiting team preferred. There weren’t a lot of smiles at the buzzer.
Welcome to the Spartans’ world. With a mix of veterans and young players — sophomore Ben Delberto starts alongside a quartet of seniors — the trend may be up but it’s not always a steady climb. At 16-6 overall and a league-best 6-2 in the South Suburban Red going into this week, there is still learning to do.
“I thought we did some good things against pressure early and then started losing our heads in the second half,” Spartans coach Jason Crowe said after the TF North win.
Jack Dempsey is the team leader, not just in scoring — he had 34, with his final 3-pointer of five on this occasion the 211th of his career, wresting the lead from Sami Osmani in Oak Lawn annals.
“I learned from all the people before me, their philosophies, how to lead, be an example, especially with our team being so young,” Dempsey said. “Leadership is key to having success. I love it. It gives me an opportunity to share my knowledge of the game. I’m like a second or third coach on the floor.”
Delberto, a 6-1 guard, is a ball distributor on offense and pugnacious on defense. That combination has earned him the starting spot and minutes. He’s learned to fit in with Dempsey, Marc Harvey (21 points) and the others.
“He’s been teaching us a lot,” Delberto said of Dempsey. “And academically too. When I was in seventh grade, I shadowed him. I’ve gotten better; I feel like I’m fitting in. I’m trying to improve on my defense.”
The Spartans benefited from a pair of bench technicals on the Meteors in the final few minutes. Dempsey sank all four free throws — he was 13-of-13 overall at the line — and those stood as the difference in a game where TF North freshman Darius Jackson surprised the Spartans with a 20-point outburst, 16 in the second half.
“Tonight I was in a flow at the free-throw line,” Dempsey said. “It gave us the best opportunity to win the game with them coming back. We have a lot of potential, especially when these guys learn the varsity way.”
Crowe, in charge of this chemistry lab, is leaning on his seniors as much as he can but knows the younger players have to see court time. The key is not to have the mixture blow up.
“There’s been some ups and downs, as there always is, especially with a sophomore on varsity,” Crowe said. “This is Ben’s first rodeo, and (junior) Jeff Wilder’s and (sophomore) Lucas Olofson’s as well. Karmoni Polk (a junior) also, players who haven’t seen a lot of varsity ball. They’re definitely improving, but success is not linear. They’re up, they’re down, they’re up again, then they’re down. Where they’re at right now is a far cry from where they were at the beginning of the year.
“We’re trending in a positive direction for sure. Most of them, most of the time.”