McKinney's energy leads Rich East

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Junior guard Kashaune McKinney said that Rich East basketball is all about energy and hard work. That energy was lacking early but the Rockets discovered it in the second half and buried SICA South rivals Rich Central 71- 46 in Olympia Fields on Friday.

McKinney led Rich East (7-2, 2-0) with 17 points. Freddie Lay and Stephen O'Neal each had 13 and Jamere Dismukes added 12.

The Rockets fell behind 12-8 early the game as Rich Central buried it’s first four three-pointers, but answered with a 26-13 run continued to build the lead throughout the second half.

‘‘Sometimes we slack off in the first quarter and let teams hang around,’’ McKinney said. “In the second half, we realized we had to play Rich East basketball, which is running and playing hard.’’

McKinney scored eight of his points during a third quarter run which saw Rich East extend a 37-29 lead to 50-33 with 2:03 remaining in the third quarter. Adedeji Ibitayo led Rich Central (2-5, 1-1) with 13 points.

“We knew they liked to take a lot of threes,” Rich East coach George Leonard said. "We also knew if we got up in their faces, their shooting percentage had to drop. We didn’t do that early on, but our guards are capable of putting a lot of pressure on other teams."