Oak Park boys’ basketball bows in O.T. at St. Bonaventure

Oak Park boys’ basketball bows in O.T. at St. Bonaventure

MICHAEL COONS/The AcornDOUBLE COVERAGE--Oak Park's Jeremy Murphy, a senior, has shown that he can score against even the toughest defenses.

By Wayne Harrison

Acorn Sports Writer

When Oak Park boys’ basketball player Jeremy Murphy took an elbow to his head with 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter vs. St. Bonaventure last Friday night, there was no reason to expect last year’s Tri-Valley League MVP to remain in the contest.

With the Eagles ahead of the Seraphs, 52-50, Murphy was dazed.

Although St. Bonaventure went on to win the contest in overtime, 62-58, it was Murphy’s refusal to leave the game that may in the long run define what this Oak Park team is all about. More so, even, than whether it won or lost the tight, crucial Tri-Valley League matchup last week in Ventura, the Eagles displayed the heart it will take to succeed in the postseason.

"I expect everyone on the team to give everything they have every game, so I can’t step out and tell them, ‘Go get it done,’" Murphy said, explaining why coming out of the game––even briefly––wasn’t an option when he got tagged by Seraph Wade DeSmidt’s pointy elbow after a missed free throw.

"If we were going to win it, I had to be on the court with them," added Murphy, a senior who made first-team All-CIF and All-County last year as a junior.

After falling behind 11-7 after the first quarter and 24-15 with 6:19 left in the half, Oak Park rallied for 13 straight points. The Eagles took a 25-24 lead on a three-point shot by junior Grant Smith, then extended the lead to three with 1:54 remaining when Murphy followed his own miss inside with a basket and was fouled. He converted the free throw to make it 28-24 in favor of Oak Park.

St. Bonaventure (12-5, 3-0) utilized two three-point shots by Steve Tarin to regain the lead, 30-28, and after Oak Park senior Jason Adams knotted the score at 30, a bucket by DeSmidt gave the Seraphs a two-point (32-30) halftime lead.

St. Bonaventure extended the lead to 39-32 early in the third quarter and maintained a 50-44 advantage after three.

However, after the Seraphs went ahead 52-46 early in the fourth quarter, Oak Park ran off nine straight points and until 1:01were left, St. Bonaventure had only the one basket in the fourth period.

Murphy scored on two consecutive hoops, cutting the lead to 52-50, then seconds after taking the blow to the side of the head, he again scored from the inside with 2:43 remaining in regulation.

"I got hit pretty hard," said Murphy, "but we needed this game."

With the score even at 52, Oak Park (12-8, 1-2) went ahead with 1:34 left in the fourth quarter when Murphy’s hesitation move drew another hard foul but he still converted a left-handed drive to the hoop. The free throw made it 55-52.

"He wanted to leave it here (on the court), he didn’t want to give it away without a fight," said Oak Park Coach Rob Hall of Murphy’s effort. "He has a history of playing big in big games—he’s that kind of a player. He played consistently strong tonight and put us in a position to win."

Despite Murphy’s 32 points, St. Bonaventure also battled all night. With just over a minute to play in regulation, the Seraphs tied the score at 55 on a clutch three-pointer by Tarin (16 points, four three-point shots). Then DeSmidt (nine blocked shots with 19 points) blocked the Eagles’ attempt at a game-winning shot.

Down 60-58 in the overtime period, Oak Park had a chance to tie the score again, but failed to capitalize. Two foul shots by St. Bonnie’s Chris Saunders (13 points and eight rebounds) sealed the outcome with 27 seconds remaining.

For Oak Park, junior guard Daniel Jensen had 12 points and four three-pointers of his own. Smith, a guard, had six points on two three-point baskets, Adams, a forward, had five points, and junior guard Monte McNair contributed two.

Although this was the Eagles’ second loss in league this season (Fillmore beat Oak Park by three points two days earlier), Hall said his team has the heart to bounce back.

"Our program has a winning tradition and we’ve been winning a lot of games in this league for a long time," Hall said. "And we’re not going to go out expecting to lose. Every game we take the court in this league we’re going to expect to win."

"St. Bonaventure played a good game tonight and they got the ‘W,’" Hall added.

"But we’ll be back next week."