Call Mekhi Lowery smooth.
Why?
Because Lowery, a 6-foot-7 senior, can make the game look easy for Oswego East.
“He’s our Swiss Army knife, our utility guy,” coach Ryan Velasquez said of the Wolves’ team leader. “He does it all for us. I tell him, ‘Be you.’ He lets the game come to him.”
Lowery certainly let Friday night’s game for the championship of the Hoops for Healing Tournament come to him.
The Towson State recruit wasn’t the leading scorer at Oswego, but he was still the best player on the floor — as he will be many nights this season — in leading the Wolves to a 69-51 win.
It came against conference rival West Aurora after both teams went 3-0 to win their respective pools before Thanksgiving.
Lowery finished with 12 points. He had game highs of 14 rebounds and five assists and committed no turnovers.
It prompted a bullish compliment from West Aurora coach Brian Johnson.
“He’s like Scottie Pippen,” Johnson said of Lowery. “He’s a point forward and guards the best guy. He’s long, athletic, smooth and can hit the open shot.
“He never looks rushed and has the confidence about him that says, ‘I’m in full control.'”
Oswego East (4-0) blew open a close game, extending a 30-26 halftime lead with a 9-0 run to start the third quarter. The Wolves were in control the rest of the way.
The spurt consisted of back-to-back 3-point plays from 6-6 senior center Tyler Jasek and 6-7 senior guard Ryan Johnson, followed by a 3-point basket from 6-3 junior guard Jehvion Starwood
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.“They all came off extra passes,” Velasquez said. “And if you can give up a good shot to get a great shot, that’s them playing unselfish and caring about each other.”
Mason Blanco, a 6-3 senior guard who came off the bench, led the Wolves with 15 points and matched West Aurora’s Jordan Brooks, a junior guard, for game-high honors.
“I just want to provide energy off the bench and do the best I can for the minutes I get,” said Blanco, who was the beneficiary of several assists from Lowery. “Mekhi tries to provide for everyone else.
“He’s definitely a team player, and that’s what I think is best about him. He’s always trying to provide for other people before himself.”
Except when Lowery is leading the team’s defense.
“He’s so long, it’s hard to get around him,” Blanco said. “Even when we play in that zone with him up top, you’re not getting much around him.”
West Aurora’s offense, which included 11 points from guards Josh Pickett and 10 from C.J. Savage, struggled as a result.
The Blackhawks turned the ball over 15 times and had just 10 free throws to 22 for the Wolves, who earned a 41-23 rebounding advantage and 20 at the offensive end.
“That’s 35 extra chances they had to score,” Johnson said. “When you get inside and don’t jump stop or shot fake and just go straight up and are hunting for fouls by jumping into guys, you’re not going to get foul calls
“I thought our initial defense, at least for two quarters, was really strong.”
Ryan Johnson added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves.
“The goal is always to win,” Lowery said. “I’m gonna do whatever I can to help. Whether that’s going to the basket, getting a rebound or hitting a teammate with a pass, it just depends on the flow of the game.
“Even though I’m more of a guard, I’m the tallest on the team, so I have to crash the boards. Our length and height definitely played an advantage.”
In a scheduling quirk, the teams meet again Tuesday at Oswego East in Southwest Prairie West play.
“We’ll have to look at the film and come up with something,” Brian Johnson said. “We can’t look like this.”