Boys Basketball: Richards Uses Big First Quarter to Down Tinley Park

The Skinny: Richards had the hot shooters early in a 64-47 boys basketball victory over Tinley Park on Friday night in Oak Lawn. A 14-0 scoring run in the first quarter pushed the Bulldogs out in front. The Titans made things interesting in the second quarter, using an 8-0 run of their own to claw back within stricking distance. The Titans closed to within 24-20 before the Bulldogs' freshman point guard Dedrick Shannon Jr. nailed a long two-point shot at the halftime buzzer to give Richards a 28-20 lead at the half. Richards used Jovone Shorter's 11 second-half points to create space and secure the big win.

Patch MVP: Richards' Jovone Shorter had 13 points for the Bulldogs, 11 of which came in the second half. He also had eight rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Key Stats: Richards controlled the boards, finishing with a 51-29 rebounding edge over Tinley Park. The Titans had the slight edge on turnovers with 22 to the Bulldogs' 29. Richards was 8-of-10 from the free throw line and 25-of-61 from the floor, including 2-of-11 on three-pointers. The Titans were just 18-of-54 from the floor, including 2-of-14 from long range. Tinley Park was 6-of-18 from the free throw line.

Richards Leaders: Jovone Shorter scored a team-high 13 points. Rod Polk scored seven points. Dedrick Shannon Jr. added 11 points off the bench. Shannon also had three steals.

Tinley Park Leaders: Eldridge Anderson had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Tracey Brandy had seven points. Vincent Gooden led all bench scorers with nine. Gooden also posted two blocks and three steals.

Quotable I: Richards coach John Chappetto: "I thought we could put some pressure on Tinley Park. I thought our defense was as good as it has been all year."

Quotable II: Richards coach John Chappetto on his team having all but two players score Friday night: "We don't have nationally ranked players here, and we try to preach a team concept. The way we play offense, you can't be a team that relies on one player too much, but everything we do is off our defense and that makes it easier to spread the scoring around."

Quotable III: D.J. Brown, Tinley Park coach: "This was the worst game all year. Afterward, we as coaches got together and discussed if there was anything positive we could take from this game. We couldn't find one thing. They killed us on the boards, and we didn't run our offense."

Team Records: Richards improves to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in the South Suburban Red. Tinley Park falls to 5-4 and 3-1.

What's Next: Richards is in action Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Moraine Valley Shootout against Chicago Agricultural Science Academy. Tinley Park is off until Jan. 4 when it plays at Providence.