Boys Basketball: Shepard Second-Quarter Surge Sinks Evergreen Park

The Hot Read: Shepard picked up some hot shooting from Martece Weatherspoon and continued its recent hot streak with a 61-44 boys basketball victory over Evergreen Park on Friday night. The Astros (12-12) climbed back to the .500 mark. Weatherspoon led all scorers with 14 points. Jarrett Foster added 12 points.

Patch’s MVP: The Astros’ Martece Weatherspoon. He scored a game-high 14 points. He made four 3-pointers.

Key Stats: The Astros set the pace by outscoring the Mustangs 39-22 in the second and third quarters.

Shepard Leaders: Martece Weatherspoon (14 points, 4 threes), Jarrett Foster (12 points), Dionte Hart (12 points).

Evergreen Park Leaders: Dillion Knight (12 points, 2 threes),  Brian Townsend Jr. (12 points), sophomore Jacquet McClendon (7 points).

Quotable I: “Martece (Weatherspoon) has been hitting the threes the last few games," Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello said. "Kevin Rathbun played great defense, forcing some turnovers. Evergreen did deny us from doing what we wanted to on offense at times during the game. We play two on the road next week, and we will know exactly how we are doing then."

Quotable II: “We played well at times, but we have to play a whole game," Evergreen Park senior Dillon Knight said. "Coach brought up some sophomores and freshmen to shake things up. The older players will have to step up and play consistent ball."

Team Records: Shepard is 12-12, 7-5 in the South Suburban Red. Evergreen Park is 5-22 and 0-13.

What’s Next: Shepard will travel to Plainfield on Wednesday and Oak Lawn on Friday. Evergreen Park is at Oak Lawn Wednesday and home against Eisenhower Friday.