BOYS' BASKETBALL: Oak Park holds on for key win at Oaks Christian

The great ones love to have the basketball in their hands in the waning moments, and Ron Lee thrives on the pressure.

The Oak Park High junior scored 30 points Friday, including five points in the final minute, as the visiting Eagles blew a 17-point lead but survived a 61-60 victory over Oaks Christian in a key Tri-Valley League showdown before a near-capacity crowd at Oaks Christian.

Lee, a 6-foot-2 junior, is the son over former NBA player Ron Lee, and the youngster looks like he has learned well from the master.

"I knew there was pressure, so I had to step up," Lee said. "I thought it was pretty even, and we got some stops when we needed to. Once we got the lead, we knew Oaks Christian was going to come back hard."

Oak Park (16-6, 5-0) went nearly the entire fourth quarter without a field goal, as Oaks Christian continued to chip away.

Oaks Christian's Chass Bryan's three-point play tied the score at 51 with just over four minutes remaining. But Oak Park's J.D. Slajchert answered with an inside basket, followed by a Trevor Darling free throw to push the lead to 54-51 with two minutes left, and Oaks Christian could not come through with one last rally.

"We played tough defense, but the refs called all the fouls on us whenever Ron Lee did anything," Bryan said. "He's a good player, but he got the calls tonight."

Lee made 16 of 21 free throws, and overall Oak Park converted 23 of 33 compared to 16 of 21 for Oaks Christian.

"Ron Lee was the man, plain and simple," Oak Park's Jackson Hall said. "He put us on his back at the end, but I had confidence in the whole team because we knew Oaks Christian was a good team and that they had a run in them."

Bryan made two 3-pointers in the final 45 seconds, including a 30-footer at the buzzer, but it was not enough, as Oaks Christian lost a league contest for the first time in 15 games since coach Andre Chevalier took over last season.

"I think we're in a pretty good position now," Lee said. "We're playing well. We just have to keep it up."

Brandon Hill added eight points for Oak Park. Oaks Christian's Mike Roletti scored 18, and Jackson Miller chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.

OAK PARK - 20-12-14-17-61
OAKS CHRISTIAN: 8-11-19-22-60
OP: Hall 7, Welti 2, Flashner 3, Lee 30 (16 of 21 FTs), Darling 3, Hicks 2, Kaufman 2, Brandon Hill 8, Slajchert 4.
OC: Smith, Roletti 18, Bryan 18, Ghilarducci 2,Miller 12 and 9 rebs, Chevalier 1, Abrams 9.
R: OC 15-4, 4-1; OP 16-6, 5-0.