As Oak Lawn Community High School senior Luke Mahoney took the court for shoot around Friday night in Spartan Gymnasium, he wore a shirt with the phrase “The Drive for Five” on it. And when the buzzer sounded after a convincing 60-29 victory over visiting Reavis on Senior Night, the boys basketball team made that season-long mantra a reality. With the win, the Spartans clinched their fifth-straight South Suburban Conference Red Championship.
Oak Lawn improved its conference record to 10-2. Prior to this run of titles, Oak Lawn had not won a conference crown since 1983. This year’s team accomplished the goal with balanced scoring, tenacious defense, and a hunger to finish the job.
However, the vision for this success started long ago.
“At my job interview for the head coaching job in April of 2011, I had a slide that contained my vision for the program and the core value of toughness that I thought we could build upon,” head coach Jason Rhodes said. “Fifteen years later, it’s amazing to me that we have essentially seen that vision become a reality. Our teams, not only for the past five seasons but nearly the last decade, have become mentally and physically tough groups that bought into and executed that vision--bringing it to fruition. The players before this run set the standard for what has happened the last 5 years, and without them, none of this would have been possible. It means something to be an Oak Lawn basketball player now.”
Friday night, the big three seniors played a huge role in clinching the title. Jack Dempsey led the way with 17 points, while Marc Harvey had 13, and Omar Saleh scored 10 points and ripped down 14 rebounds. Sophomore Ben Delberto added 14 points in the win.
“Our senior group has by and large set the tone for the team, no surprise as most of them have been up with us since they were freshmen or sophomores,” Rhodes said. “Jack Dempsey, in particular, has had a role in the last four conference championships, going 45-7 in conference play (to date), and losing just one conference game on our side of the league, all the way back during his freshman season (on the road at Evergreen Park).
“Marc Harvey, Omar Saleh, John Olejniczak, and Luke Mahoney have all been standard bearers for our program as well, responding to the rigors and challenges of the season, positively impacting our team, and finding ways to continue to improve. Marc and Omar have had stellar senior seasons as part of our “Big Three” (along with Jack) on the floor.”
The Spartans refused to be satisfied with the conference championship they earned Friday night and went on to beat a strong Riverside-Brookfield team on Saturday afternoon, 70-64. It was Oak Lawn’s 12th win in a row. Dempsey and Harvey each scored 27 points in the victory. The win ended R-B’s 12-game win streak and improved the Spartans’ overall record to 22-6.
“As for this season, following a difficult loss at Lemont in early January, we were 2-2 in conference play with a tough Oak Forest game staring us in the face,” Rhodes said. “I challenged our team to fight that game, and we responded with an old-school, grind-it-out 48-35 win after a first quarter that saw us facing an 11-3 deficit. We have not lost since.”