Who’s happy to be home?
The OPRF boys basketball team appeared more than pleased to be back on their home court Friday night as the Huskies, coming off a 1-2 finish at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, trounced Proviso West 72-54 at the field house in Oak Park. The victory pushed OPRF’s West Suburban (Silver) Conference win-streak to four games.
Senior forward Alex Nesnidal led the Huskies to a 20-8 first quarter start with eight points and three rebounds. The senior forward struggled to find his shooting touch to begin the season, but has come on strong ever since. After the Huskies’ menacing zone defense held the Panthers — a team full of juniors this season — to a mere three points in the first four minutes of action, Nesnidal bucketed a long-range three-pointer that took the life out of Proviso West early. Nesnidal also had two steals in the second quarter, one leading to a pretty 10-foot jumper by Ka’Darryl Bell and the other a putback by Gabe Levin.
“It was really important for us to start off strong in this game, and that’s exactly what we did,” said Nesnidal after the win. “It’s been something we’ve wanted to do all season, getting out front early and establishing a rhythm. We keyed-in on getting offensive rebounds and that worked out really well. Those second chance points were huge for us.”
The Huskies, who are now 10-3 overall, cruised through the second period, taking a comfortable 36-22 lead by halftime.
Junior guard Jakari Cammon finished a three-point play with 1:02 left before the break after being fouled on a made layup. Cammon also hit 1-of-2 free throws with 29.9 seconds remaining to put the Huskies up 14.
Levin finished with a team-high 15 points, and showcasing yet another impressive dunk. Cammon rocketed a pass out to a breaking Levin with 6:32 left in the third and the senior slammed it home to put the Huskies up 44-23.
A poetic spin-move by 6-foot-8-inch center junior Thomas Ross pushed OPRF’s advantage to 25 points after three periods. Shortly after that, the team’s starters came out.
Bell, whose right shooting wrist was taped up due to an injury a few weeks ago, finished with 14 points, eight in the second half. Nesnidal chipped in 12 points for the Huskies, who travel to Lyons Township on Friday (Jan. 13) to take on a struggling Lions team. The Lions are 5-9 overall.
“Our goal is to win the conference, and we want to do it one game at a time,” said Nesnidal. “Glenbard West seems to be our main competition right now, but we’re certainly aware we have to win them all.”
Lawrence Moore led Proviso West with 16 points, while Taylor Watkins added 12.