Boys Basketball: Oak Lawn Springs a Trap on L-W West

The Skinny: Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes planned for his Spartans to use full-court pressure in their 60-45 boys basketball victory over Lincoln-Way West whether the Warriors were with or without their starting point guard. West’s Kevin White sat out of the pool play matchup Wednesday in the Medieval Classic at Lincoln-Way East. He suffered a concussion in a loss to East on Tuesday. Without him, the Warriors went down via knockout. They turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter and Oak Lawn turned pressure defense into transition offense. The Spartans built leads of 6-0, 11-2 and 21-4 and coasted home with three players scoring in double figures.

Patch’s MVP: Oak Lawn junior guard/forward Martin Einikis. He made 7-of-14 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, and led all scorers with 17 points. He also grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots.

Key Stats: Oak Lawn forced Lincoln-Way West to turn the ball over 17 times and, at one point, led by as much as 54-26. The Spartans used their pressure defense to create easy opportunities on the offensive end, and they hit 25-of-59 shots (42.4 percent). Lincoln-Way West was an ice-cold 16-of-50 (32 percent) and was outrebounded 35-33.

Oak Lawn Leaders: Martin Einikis (17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), Sean Altenburg (13 points, 6-of-8 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), Lyndell Johnson (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Jacob Campbell (4 points, 7 assists, 2 steals).

Lincoln-Way West Leaders: Luke Horvath (12 points, 2-of-5 on 3-pointers), Hayden Witt (9 points, 5 rebounds), Cody James (6 points, 2 assists), Franco Pittinato (5 points, 4 rebounds).

Quotable I: “Even if (Kevin White) wasn’t out, that was the way we were going to play,” Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes said of the Spartans’ trapping defense. “We’ve been playing that way the past couple of games here at Christmas, and it’s worked for us. In the first game of the tournament, we were down 30 to East in the third quarter (45-15), and we came back and cut it to three by the end of the game (61-58). The kids like playing that way with the pressure and traps. I think that’s kind of become our identity a little bit. So, we’re going to continue to do that.”

Quotable II: “He’s one of our best players on the team,” Oak Lawn senior point guard Lyndell Johnson said of his teammate, Martin Einikis. “He can post up, shoot—he can do everything, rebound. Everything.”

Team Records: Oak Lawn is 3-7. Lincoln-Way West dropped to 2-12.

What’s Next: Both teams conclude play at the Medieval Classic on Thursday, Dec. 29. Oak Lawn then plays host to Chicago Christian at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3. Lincoln-Way West faces Thornton at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 in New Lenox.