Maddox leads Oak Park over NPHS

Senior center scores 30 points as Eagles down Panthers, 67-53


ADAM DAVIS/Acorn Newspapers SECOND-HALF SURGE—Above, Oak Park’s Kareem Maddox splits  a  pair  of Panther defenders during Tuesday's game at the 8th annual Oak Park High School Boys Varsity Tournament. Maddox  had  30  points.  Below,  Eagle  point  guard  Andy Winningham, right, drives by Newbury Park's Jared Koga.

ADAM DAVIS/Acorn Newspapers SECOND-HALF SURGE—Above, Oak Park’s Kareem Maddox splits a pair of Panther defenders during Tuesday’s game at the 8th annual Oak Park High School Boys Varsity Tournament. Maddox had 30 points. Below, Eagle point guard Andy Winningham, right, drives by Newbury Park’s Jared Koga.


Things sure are different at the varsity level.

Newbury Park High sophomore center Charles Benton learned that lesson Tuesday night as the Panthers opened the 8th annual Oak Park High School Boys Varsity Tournament against the host Eagles and their sensational senior center, Kareem Maddox.

After missing his first five shots from the field, Maddox bounced back to score a gamehigh 30 points in the Eagles’ 67-53 come-from-behind victory.

When he wasn’t putting balls in the basket on offense, Maddox utilized his 6-foot-6 frame to thwart away Newbury Park scoring opportunities and inhaling rebounds.

“He’s a good player,” Benton said. “He’s quick. He can dribble well. He’ll pull up and shoot, and he has long arms. He’s good.”

A member of the freshman/ sophomore team a year ago, Benton is just beginning his varsity career. During the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound center held his own against Maddox, converting 5of6 fieldgoal attempts for 10 points as NPHS built a 2117 firstquarter advantage.

It wasn’t the first time the two big men had faced off on the court. Maddox and Benton both played together on a club team named Baseline during the summer.

“He had a good first half,” Maddox said of Benton. “He still has some work to do, but if he gets the right training, he’s going to be really good, especially in the Marmonte League.”

After going to Benton several times in the first eight minutes, Newbury Park’s offense didn’t utilize the sophomore much over the final three quarters. Panther head coach Steve Johnson said feeding the hot hand is something his team must improve upon.

“Defensively, Oak Park did a nice job,” Johnson said. “Our impatience was part of it, too. We have a young team, and sometimes we don’t see the wisdom of making an extra pass and seeing where that can lead us.

“This is a great learning experience for us to be able to play a good, experienced team like Oak Park.”

Newbury Park took a 35-30 lead into halftime thanks to the strong play of Benton and senior forward Andrew Wondra, who had eight first-half points.

Two minutes into the third quarter, Oak Park tied the game at 35 on a basket by junior forward Bobby Hillard.

Although Maddox missed a dunk attempt on the next Oak Park possession, the Eagles continued their surge by scoring six more unanswered points to take a 4135 lead on a basket by senior guard Nick Saliano.

Saliano finished with 11 points for OPHS, as did junior point guard Andy Winningham.

“They came out and seized control of the game in the third quarter by taking advantage of some scoring opportunities,” Johnson said.

Oak Park led 49-41 at the end of the third quarter and never looked back en route to its fourth win in six contests.

Prior to Wednesday night’s game, Newbury Park’s record stood at 1-4 overall.

“I liked the second half a lot,” OPHS head coach Ed Chevalier said. “I didn’t like the first half too much. When we play aggressively, we’re a good team. The first half we were very passive. The second half we were much more aggressive, and that was the difference.”

At the end of last season, Chevalier, who spent 18 seasons as Thousand Oaks’ head coach before coming to Oak Park six years ago, announced his resignation. But after contemplating things for a short time, he changed his mind and decided to return to coach the Eagles.

“I thought we had the nucleus of a good team returning, and I couldn’t see myself doing anything different for at least another year,” Chevalier said. “When we play like we did in the second half, it seems like a really good decision.”

Both Johnson and Chevalier said they were excited to have their squads competing in the six-team tournament. In addition to Oak Park and Newbury Park, Westlake, Royal, Dos Pueblos and St. Francis are all in the field.

In other action on Tuesday, Dos Pueblos defeated Royal, 7867, and Westlake took care of St. Francis, 82-49.

Pool play continues through tonight. The tournament championship game is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Oak Park High.

 

 

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