Boys Basketball: Andrew disposes of Tinley Park
By Pat Disabato pdisabato@southtownstar.com January 24, 2012 10:54PM
Tinley Park's Greg Martin (32) shoots a short jump shot against Andrew. | Allen Cunningham~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: February 26, 2012 8:10AM
Entering Tuesday’s game against neighborhood rival Tinley Park, undefeated Andrew hadn’t played a game in nine days.
At times the rust showed, particularly during a slugging first-quarter performance.
But No. 1 Andrew eventually found itself and easily turned aside the upset aspirations of host Tinley Park, 58-37, in front of a near-capacity gathering.
“I’m not going to use the layoff as an excuse,” Andrew forward Jubril Adekoya said. “We were just slow, sluggish, lethargic. We made some adjustments and I realized I had to step up for my team.”
Adekoya recorded 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead a resurgent Thunderbolts attack in the second half. Andrew (14-0) outscored the Titans 36-12 over the final 16 minutes, with Adekoya contributing 13 of those points and 14 boards.
While Adekoya led the way, Glorind Lisha chipped in 13 points and Alex Zappavigna added 10.
The impressive second-half display, in which Andrew converted 15-of-27 field-goal attempts, was in stark contrast to the first half.
The Thunderbolts converted just 3-of-12 field goals in the first quarter and 6-of-20 by halftime.
Still, it was more than enough to earn leads of 8-4 after one period and 22-11 at the half
Tinley Park had its troubles on offense, the Titans (10-9) misfiring on their first 14 shots of the game. Vince Gooden (team-high 9 points) hit an off-balance, 22-footer at the buzzer to account for Tinley Park’s only field goal of the first quarter. Yet, the Titans trailed just 8-4.
“I was happy we were up by four,” Andrew coach Mike O’Halloran said. “We didn’t play our best, but we were still ahead by four.”
Tinley Park got to within 22-19 early in the third quarter. Andrew countered with a 7-0 run, keyed by hoops from Zappavigna and Adekoya to open up a 29-19 spread.
The Titans finished 14-of-53 from the field, including a 2-of-23 effort from beyond the three-point line. They were 7-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Andrew was a respectable 21-of-47 from the field and 16-of-28 from the line.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment