Boys Basketball: Richards rules boards, beats Tinley Park
Jovone Shorter scored 11 of his game-high 13 points in the second half as Richards pulled away for a 64-47 victory over Tinley Park in a key South Suburban Conference crossover Friday night in Oak Lawn.
Both teams entered the game with 3-0 conference records. Richards (6-3, 4-0) raced out to an early lead and dominated on the boards as the Titans (5-4, 3-1) could never catch up.
“We played a pretty good team that was 3-0 in the conference,” Richards coach John Chappetto said. “I thought we put good pressure on them and I thought our defense was as good as it’s been all year.”
The Bulldogs turned the pressure up in the second half, forcing 15 of Tinley Park’s 21 turnovers. Richards led 38-28 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter and put it away by going on a 17-5 blitz late in the game.
Shorter, a senior guard who added nine rebounds, capped off the spurt with a steal and layup. He had five points in the stretch, while freshman guard Dedrick Shannon Jr. scored seven of his 11 points in the run.
“I knew we had to pull away from that lead,” Shorter said. “They had played us tough and we just had to be more aggressive.
“[Conference] means a lot to our program. We don’t want to be the first to end this streak of conference titles.”
Lavante Smith added nine points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs, who had a 50-31 rebounding advantage. Richards was playing without starting post player Deonta Parker-Jones, who was out nursing an injury.
Tinley Park was led by Eldridge Anderson with 10 points and 10 rebounds, Vincent Gooden added nine points and Tracey Brandy scored all seven of his points in the second quarter for the Titans.
Richards never trailed. A layup by Royal Hardaway (six points) and an 18-footer at the buzzer by Shannon gave Richards a 28-20 halftime lead.
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