Boys Basketball: Oak Lawn’s Huge Second Half Downs Richards

The Hot Read: Oak Lawn enjoyed a huge second half en route to beating its crosstown rival, as Anthony Johnson led the way with 16 points after halftime. The Oak Lawn defense challenged for every loose ball and rebound. The box-and-one kept Richards' Dominique Gaddis’ point total down in the second half.

Patch’s MVP: Oak Lawn’s Johnson netted a game-high 20 points and was tenacious on defense. He hit eight of 10 from the charity stripe.

Key Stats: The Spartans were trailing at half 31-27 before turning the game around in the second half. Oak Lawn made the most of its many trips to the free-throw line on the night, hitting 29 of 36.

Oak Lawn’s Leaders: Anthony Johnson (20 points), Jon Matthews (16 points), Colin Altenburg (14 points) and Leon Reed (12 points).

Richard’s Leaders: Dominique Gaddis (25 points) and Josh Freeman (12 points).

Quotable:  Oak Lawn’s Anthony Johnson: “We played as a team tonight, passed the ball well and took good shots. We are getting better but need to improve before the playoffs.”

Richards’ Dominique Gaddis: “I had a hard time with the box-and-one defense. Then the fouls seemed to take us out of our tempo. We have to practice hard and play well the next couple of games to get ready for the playoffs.”

Oak Lawn coach Scott Atkins: “Anthony Johnson came through again and I was proud of the hard play of Jake Campbell and Lyndell Johnson. We had a nice crowd out there for our ‘Paint The Gym Purple,’ which is a huge fundraiser for our Relay For Life event in May. The crowd went away happy.”

Richards coach John Chappetto: “We have to work hard. Our next two games are against Eisenhower and Argo and we have to win out to tie for the conference championship."

Team Records: Oak Lawn: 11-10 overall and 5-6 in the South Suburban Red. Richards: 9-14 overall and 7-4 in the same conference.