It certainly wasn’t part of Lemont’s plan to lose senior point guard P.J. Pipes for the first 21 days of the boys basketball season.
But at this point, his absence actually appears to be paying dividends.
The Indians stayed atop the Southwest Suburban standings Friday night with an impressive 62-44 victory over Evergreen Park.
In only his second game following an unspecified suspension, Pipes scored a game-high 25 points for Lemont (8-7, 4-0).
“A lot of our young guys got a lot of confidence,” Pipes said. “They got to start and play a lot more with me out. That built their confidence. And now that I’m back, it feels like all hands are on deck.”
Without Pipes in the lineup, senior point guard Martin Stanys, senior forward Nate Podgorak and juniors Jerry Radomski and Paul O’Leary developed their games.
Podgorak, Radomski and O’Leary combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds against Evergreen Park (10-5, 1-4), including 12 offensive rebounds.
Radomski contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, while Podgorak added nine points and 10 rebounds and O’Leary had 11 points and six rebounds.
“We tried to sell it that a lot of people would get a lot of minutes in P.J.’s absence and be put in positions where they normally wouldn’t be,” Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. “Like Martin ran the point while P.J. wasn’t here.
“I think it gave him a lot of confidence and has turned him into a good secondary ball-handler.”
Pipes made his return last week in the seventh-place game of the DeKalb Holiday Tournament and scored 21 points.
He showed little rust in the first half against the Mustangs, scoring 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting. Lemont trailed 12-7 midway through the first quarter, but ran off 16 of the next 18 points for a 23-14 lead.
The Indians led by as many as 14 before settling for a 33-23 halftime advantage. They threatened to pull away in the third, building as much as a 15-point lead at one point.
Instead, the Mustangs and senior forward Kyree Hannah closed the quarter on a 10-1 spurt to move to within 44-40. Hannah finished with 15 points. But Evergreen Park scored only four points in the fourth quarter and none in the final 3:29.
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Pipes had seven of his team’s 18 points in fourth. Fittingly, he assisted on the game’s final basket on a no-look feed down the lane to O’Leary for a two-handed dunk.
Argo 43, Bremen 37: Jalen Cobbs had 15 points for Argo (1-14, 1-4 SSC Red).
Beecher 68, Donovan 25: Jarod Stolzenbach scored 15 points for Beecher (10-6, 3-0 River Valley).
Bradley-Bourbonnais 56, Lincoln-Way West 52: Marco Pettinato had 20 points for West (3-10, 1-3 SWSC Red).
Brother Rice 72, Ag. Science 46: Mike Shepski made nine 3-pointers and finished with 35 points for Rice (13-3).
Chicago Christian 66, St. Edward 52: Malik Parker scored 23 points and Jack Ellison added 22 for Chicago Christian (10-6, 7-0 Metro Suburban East).
Hillcrest 82, Shepard 53: Marcus Garrett had a game-high 24 points for Hillcrest (9-5, 5-0 SSC Blue).
Homewood-Flossmoor 49, Lockport 40: Jarrett Tribble scored 16 points for H-F (11-2, 2-0 SWSC Blue).
Joliet Catholic 42, Kennedy 26: Peter Ragen’s 15 points led JCA (7-7).
Lincoln-Way Central 63, Thornridge 35: Andrew Hancock scored 16 points for Central (4-11, 2-2 SWSC Red).
Loyola 51, De La Salle 35: Stone Parker put in 15 points for De La Salle (8-5, 2-2 Catholic North).
Marist 65, Harlan 24: Maurice Commander scored 22 points for Marist (17-0).
Oak Lawn 63, Oak Forest 39: Adam Stallworth and Rashad Johnson each had 14 points for Oak Lawn (5-10, 1-4 SSC Red).
St. Laurence 58, St. Rita 55: Justin Wierzgac had 21 points for St. Laurence (5-10, 1-1 Catholic South).
T.F. South 70, Reavis 48: Nate Sanders poured in 20 points for T.F. South (7-7, 5-0 SSC Blue).
Tinley Park 53, Eisenhower 51: Christian Hooker’s two free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining lifted Tinley (5-10, 4-1 SSC Blue).
Girls Basketball
Richards 50, T.F. North 32: Halle Idowu scored 15 points for Richards (10-5, 3-2 SSC Red).
Boys Bowling
South Suburban Blue Meet: Keith Pedersen (1,263) won the individual championship for the third year to lead Oak Forest (6,011) to first place.
Phil English is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown. Freelance writer Josh Krockey contributed.