The Skinny: Tinley Park’s full-court pressure got the best of Oak Lawn in the second half. The Titans forced a number of turnovers and turned a 10-point halftime deficit into a 58-56 win on Friday night in Oak Lawn. Senior guard Jon Calhoun scored the Titans’ last 12 points, including a last-second layup off a steal from Eldridge Anderson to win it at the buzzer. Oak Lawn handled Tinley Park’s 1-3-1 zone well in the first half, getting easy layups off good ball movement. But the Spartans were hurt when point guard Lyndell Johnson picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter and was forced to the bench for more than four minutes. In that time, Tinley Park overcame an eight-point deficit to take a two-point lead.
Patch’s MVP: Tinley Park’s Jon Calhoun (20 points, 2 rebounds). Calhoun scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and had the game-winning layup to give Tinley Park the victory.
Key Stats: Oak Lawn had 12 turnovers in the second half after only committing four in the first half. Tinley Park exploded for 36 points in the second half compared to only 22 in the first 16 minutes.
Oak Lawn Leaders: Lyndell Johnson (19 points), Shawn Cannon (8 points), Jacob Campbell (9 points).
Tinley Park Leaders: Eldridge Anderson (10 points), Vincent Gooden (15 points), William Marcano (5 points).
Quotable I: “I didn’t think we handled (pressure) all that well and all you have to do is look at the stats and that will back it up,” Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes said.
Quotable II: “We really didn’t come out with energy like we usually do,” Calhoun said. “Since we were down, we had to turn it up on defense in the second half.”
Team Records: Tinley Park is 3-2.
What’s Next: Oak Lawn travels to Lemont on Tuesday at 7 p.m., while Tinley Park plays at Crete-Monee on Saturday in the Chicago Hoops Shoot-Out at 7:30 p.m.
