TP_020719

44 | February 7, 2019 | The tinley junction sports
tinleyjunction.com
BOYS BASKETBALL
TPHS puts Illiana’s homecoming in Dyer straits
PHIL ARVIA, Freelance Reporter
As a team looking for an
energy boost, Tinley Park
couldn’t have picked a better
school to visit Friday, Feb. 1,
than Illiana Christian.
The Dyer, Ind., school, after
operating since 1945 in
south suburban Lansing, was
celebrating its first homecoming
in its new location.
Yes, homecoming. Illiana
has no football program.
“It was a first for me,”
Tinley Park coach DJ Brown
said. “I love the atmosphere.
We haven’t been in an atmosphere
like this since we
played for the sectional title
[in 2008].”
Illiana’s gym was filled
nearly to its capacity of
2,000. The crowd was roaring
almost constantly
throughout a 75-72 Tinley
Park when.
The exception was when
the Titans burst out of the
blocks to a 14-0 lead midway
through the first quarter.
Christian Hooker, on
his way to a game-high 22
points, made three 3-pointers
in the run.
“It was fun,” he said. “We
were ready to go out there
and make their crowd go
quiet.”
The Titans (12-7) never
lost the lead while snapping
a three-game losing streak.
But the Vikings (12-6) didn’t
go down easily.
Illiana cut the lead to three
points in the second quarter
only to see Tinley Park,
sparked by senior reserve
Matt Joren’s back-to-back
3s, push its advantage to 11
two minutes later. A 16-point
advantage with 6:44 to play
was trimmed to two at
3:24, but Mario Lawrence
(20 points, 12 assists) and
Yitonis Nash (8 points, 11
rebounds) combined to go
8-of-8 from the free throw
line in the final three minutes
as the Titans refused to fold.
“The difference tonight
versus the last few games
was the pace of play,” Brown
said. “We play better when
we play fast. Pace dictated
results, and the atmosphere
helped pace.”
Freestyle
The Titans came into the
Illiana game shooting 63
percent from the free throw
line. They made just two of
their first 10 attempts against
the Vikings. Yet Lawrence,
a 61-percent shooter on the
season, who made just one
of his four attempts earlier in
the game, was 6-for-6 in the
fourth quarter. How?
“To be honest, I was singing
a song in my head,” he
said. “It kind of zoned everything
out, actually. It took all
the voices out of my head.”
The song, “Crazy Story”
by Chicago rapper King
Von, isn’t on Brown’s playlist.
But talking to his team
about free throws is on repeat.
“We don’t shoot a lot
of free throws,” he said.
“Against Oak Forest last
week, they were 15-of-22
and we were 4-of-7 from
the line. You can’t win lot of
games shooting seven free
throws. Our goal is to shoot
more free throws than the
other team makes.”
Against Illiana, the Titans
were 10-of-19 while the Vikings
were 16-of-19.
Super sub
Prior to the Illiana contest,
Joren, a 6-foot-3 swingman,
had gotten into 12 games and
scored a total of 16 points —
most of those with the final
outcome all but determined.
In Dyer, he was the second
Titan off the bench and his
pair of 3s midway through
the second quarter were
a key to Tinley taking an
eight-point lead into intermission.
“I came in, it was 23-20, I
made two 3s, it was 29-20,”
he said. “I’m confident. I’m
ready to shoot whenever.
“It does feel good to make
an impact. The crowd was
psyching me up a little — it
was like the Andrew game.
We love crowds. And their
fan section was talking a little
smack, so that hyped us up.”
One for the kids
This is Tinley Park’s 57th
school year.
The year after the school
opened, the Titans started a
freshman basketball tournament.
“That was the appeal, I
think,” Tinley Park coach DJ
Brown said. “Let’s start this
tournament for freshmen because
our student body is so
young.”
The appeal has evolved.
When the 56th edition of
the tournament takes place
Tinley Park’s Christian Hooker, shown in the game earlier this season, had a trio of
3-pointers in a 14-0 run in the Titans’ win at Illiana Christian. JEFF VORVA/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
February 16 and 17, it will
be a major piece of the fundraising
for the Titans’ boys
program.
“It helps us out quite a
bit,” Brown said. “We’ve
really built it up as a fundraising
opportunity for the
program.”
The 16-team event has
public and private schools,
along with, Brown said, a
waiting list 10 to 12 teams
long.
“It’s a great way for the
freshman teams to conclude
their season,” Brown said.
Tinley’s varsity players
work the event, running
concessions, selling raffle
tickets and helping out the
sponsors by handing out
marketing materials and the
like.
“It’s a fundraiser for us,
but it’s also an opportunity
for local businesses to raise
their profile,” Brown said.
“We publicize them on social
media, put them on the
marquee in the gym, and
vendors set up tables and
booths in the hallway for
spectators to visit throughout
the weekend.”
This year’s sponsors include
Southwest Synergy
Dance, NuMark Credit
Union, Bob Haustein Remax,
CNB Bank, Porte
Brown LLC and Chiro One
Wellness Center. They’re
just part of Brown’s yearround
fundraising efforts
to keep his program in uniforms
and warmups that
don’t embarrass status-conscious
teens.
“Parents might think,
‘the school foots the bill,’”
Brown said. “But the reality
is every four years we’ll get
some money for uniforms.
Fundraising makes up the
difference.”
In addition to the freshman
tourney, Brown sells candy
in his classroom year-round
and has found some other
ways to generate revenue
for the program that largely
don’t include his players.
“I like the kids to be able
to concentrate on school and
basketball, not, ‘hey, are you
selling this?’” Brown said.
“I’ve kind of taken the approach
that it’s my program,
it’s my responsibility. It’s a
year-round thing, and you
have to be creative, but it’s
one less thing for the kids to
worry about.”
Up next
The Titans’ next game is 6
p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at T.F.
North. The Meteors carried a
record of 12-8, 5-2 into their
Friday, Feb. 1 contest with
Oak Forest.
THIS WEEK IN
TITANS VARSITY ATHLETICS
BOYS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 8 – at Thornton Fractional
North, 6:30 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 13 – at Thornton Fractional
South, 7 p.m.
WRESTLING
■Feb. ■ 8-9 IHSA Individual Sectional,
TBA
GIRLS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 7 – at Oak Forest, 7 p.m.
■Feb. ■ 11-15 - IHSA Regional, TBA
GIRLS BOWLING
■Feb. ■ 9 - IHSA Sectional, TBA
THUNDERBOLTS VARSITY
ATHLETICS
BOYS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 8 – hosts Bradley, 6:30 p.m.
WRESTLING
■Feb. ■ 8-9 - IHSA Individual
Sectional, TBA
GIRLS BASKETBALL
■Feb. ■ 11-15 IHSA Regional, TBA
GIRLS BOWLING
■Feb. ■ 9 - IHSA Sectional, TBA
GIRLS GYMNASTICS
■Feb. ■ 7 – IHSA Sectional, TBA