Gaddis Scores 24; Richards Takes Down Tinley Park

Richards traveled to Tinley Park to take on the Titans Friday night in a South Suburban Red boys basektball matchup.

Going in, the Titans (5-1, 2-1) were undefeated, but the Bulldogs (3-4, 2-1) would spoil that run and come away with 74-69 victory, but not without a valiant effort from Tinley Park.

The Bulldogs' senior guard, Dominique Gaddis, led all scorers with 24 points. Tim Stokes and Jovone Shorter had 12 points each, and Josh Freeman had 10. Gaddis also grabbed nine rebounds. Richards made 16-of-34 free throws in the second half, compared to Tinley Park going 12-of-27 in the entire game.

"In the first half, we turned the ball over a lot, but we stepped it up in the second," Gaddis said. "Our point guard (Freeman) was playing with stitches, but we didn't let that get to us. We're starting to gel as a team."

The Titans were led by Jon Calhoun's 20 points and eight rebounds. Tony Core had 15 points and Steven White had 10.

Tinley Park shot out of the opening gate quickly, building a 9-3 lead before the Bulldogs battled back. Richards went on an 8-2 run to tie it up at 11, but the Titans finished the quarter ahead 16-11.

The Bulldogs kept up the scoring pace, surging into the second quarter with an 11-0 run on the Titans. Richards was very aggressive on the full-court press and forced several Tinley Park turnovers. The Bulldogs took a 36-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the third quarter, both teams were aggressive. Tinley Park, while trailing 52-41, picked up momentum for the fourth quarter.

The Titans staged a comeback, pulling within three with just about 1:00 left. Richards put the game away at the free throw line, however.

"I think we got outworked, and they were more physical," Tinley Park coach D.J. Brown said. "We played well in the fourth quarter. We haven't put a full game together yet. We can't dig ourselves a hole and expect to win, especially against a team like Richards. If we made a few more free throws, we could have won the game."

"It was a good win on the road," Richards coach John Chappetto said. "Each day, we start to resemble Richards basketball a little bit more. Coming from where we were at the start of the year to where we are now, I'm very pleased. We still have a ways to go because we didn't win smart, but we won hard, and I'll take it."