Oak Park may not have the greatest shooters, but it makes up for that deficiency with quickness and pressure.
The host Huskies had both qualities in abundance Friday night as they claimed a 59-45 West Suburban Silver victory over Lyons Township.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever played Oak Park when you don’t look out of sync,” said Lions coach Dave Ray, whose team slipped to 8-4, 3-1 in the league. “They’re very athletic and they come out and pressure you. They switch defenses and they don’t let you get comfortble. You’ve got to play smart.”
The Huskies (8-4, 2-1), winners of seven of their last eight games, also scrambled the West Suburban Silver race by handing the Lions their first conference loss.
The effects of long holiday layoffs were evident in the opening quarter, as the teams totaled four field goals between them.
Lyons opened with a quick score from center Mike Passananti but was silent for the next four minutes until Robert Black canned a three-pointer.
Oak Park, meanwhile, missed its first eight shots from the field but managed to claim a 10-8 lead by the end of the first quarter.
“We always have a sluggish start, because we’re not very good offensively,” Huskies coach Al Allen said. “We don’t have many offensive weapons so we’re trying to get it done with defense as much as we can–and try to hold the other team down.”
The pace quickened considerably in the second quarter as Huskies quickness and six points from Jonathan Cheeks helped the hosts to a 25-21 halftime lead. Better shooting also helped. Oak Park went 50 percent from the field (7 for 14), while Lyons was going 6 for 15.
The pace slowed again in the third, but the Huskies still pushed the lead to 36-29 by the end of the period. Early in the fourth, they gained their biggest lead of the night at to that point when Kenny Harris made it 38-28 with a baseline drive.
The Lions revived briefly with a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 40-35 with 5:54 to go. And they crept to within 48-44 on Black’s baseline three-pointer with 2:03 to play.
But that’s as close as the Lions came, as they were forced to foul. The Huskies locked up the game by hitting eight of 12 free throws down the stretch.
Cheeks paced Oak Park with 18 points while fellow junior Pierre Monagan added 13. Passananti had 18 for Lyons.
