OPRF basketball loses to Proviso East in WSC showdown

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 9:17 PM

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By Brad Spencer

Sports Editor

The OPRF boys basketball team was unable to shake off Proviso East's ferocious defense in the first showdown of its kind between the West Suburban Conference Silver and Gold Division champs in Maywood tonight.

After a valiant effort to keep up with the undefeated Pirates in the first half, the Huskies succumbed to a 63-48 loss and closed out the regular season with a 19-6 overall record.

The game began as a rebounding clinic — or more appropriately a contest — as OPRF's Gabe Levin hauled down four boards and Proviso East's Sterling Brown grabbed three before either team made a basket. Six-foot senior Keith Carter, whose younger brother Jevon scored 43 points in the JV game earlier in the evening including a half-court lob at the buzzer, was the first to hit a bucket with 5:15 left in the quarter. The point guard nailed a three-pointer over OPRF's 2-3 match-up zone defense. Alex Nesnidal's tip-in at the 3:54 mark gave the Huskies their first points of the game. OPRF trailed 11-9 at the end of the opening stanza.

Levin hit two three-pointers and Jakari Cammon converted a steal into a layup to keep things close for the Huskies in the second quarter. The intensity seemed to reach another level in the closing minutes of the first half when both teams engaged in a brief moment of pushing and shoving after a loose ball foul. OPRF went into the break down just 22-19.

The game got away from the Huskies in the third quarter as the Pirates forced turnover after turnover with a relentless full-court press. OPRF was outscored 23-8 in the frame. The Pirates put an exclamation mark on reaching 25-straight victories when Paris Lee and Carter hit back-to-back threes to give their team a 37-22 advantage with more than three minutes left in the third.

"I'm extremely pleased with the way we played in the first half," said OPRF head coach Matt Maloney. "We just can't make mistakes against a team like this. We shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers and the free-throw shooting. We'll need to regroup and be ready for the playoffs. Who knows, hopefully we get another shot at them."

OPRF made 11-of-19 shots from the charity stripe in the game and yielded 22 turnovers to the Pirates through the first three quarters.

Levin led the Huskies with 20 points, 14 rebounds, six blocks and five steals. Cammon added nine points, while Ka’Darryl Bell, who is bound for Bradley in the fall, was held to seven.  

Carter finished with 18 points — including a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final period — for the Pirates.

OPRF now turns its attention to the Class 4A State playoffs where it is the No. 2 seed in the Schaumburg Sectional. The Huskies will open the playoffs likely against Silver Division rival Lyons Township on Tuesday, Feb. 28 (6 p.m.) in the Lyons Regional. The winner will play either Leyden or Morton in the regional championship on Friday, March 2 (7:30 p.m.).

The Huskies split two games against Lyons this season, winning the most recent one 58-35 on Feb. 11th.