Walls wills Lions to victory over Taft

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:54AM

Darien Walls hates losing with a passion. He was not going to go down without a fight.

"Our coaches and our captains preach never stop fighting, and that's what we had to do," the 6-6 Lincoln Park senior forward said.

Walls scored 14 of his team-high 19 points in the second half as the host Lions used an 11-0 fourth-quarter run in their 50-44 victory over Taft Wednesday afternoon.

"No matter what I was going to do whatever it took to get the victory," said Walls. He scored four points in the final 38 seconds for the Lions (8-7, 3-0 Red-North).

Walls and sophomore guard Shamar Tucker (15 points) keyed the Lincoln Park fourth quarter uprising that finally subdued Taft and neutralized its outstanding senior guard, Jon Doss. Walls added eight rebounds and two blocks.

Doss put an electrifying shooting performance. He converted two three-pointers and scored 14 second-quarter points, including 12 straight, that propelled the Eagles to a 25-19 lead at the break. Doss remained hot in the third quarter in adding eight points in the frame. His fourth and final three-pointer provided the Eagles' largest lead, 37-30.

Doss assisted Doug Manis for a lay up at the start of the fourth for a 39-34 advantage. Instead of closing out the road victory, the Eagles allowed the lead to slip away. "We had control of the game for three quarters," Doss said. "They put the press on, and we lost our composure and our patience against the press."

Taft (7-7, 2-1) turned the ball over seven times in the fourth quarter and endured a four-minute scoring drought. Tucker scored five points during the 11-0 burst that turned the five-point deficit into the 45-39 advantage. His three-point play marked the Lions' first lead of the second half. Tucker also made a critical steal and assist to Walls during the run.

Equally important, the Lions bottled up Doss in the fourth quarter. He finished with 26 points, though he managed only two free throws in the final quarter. "Coach (Brian Murphy) changed from a zone to a man in the second half, and [Doss] didn't get as many good looks as he got in the first half," Walls said.

Gerardo Sandoval (six points) hit a runner that pulled the Eagles within 46-44 with 1:09 remaining. Tucker assisted Walls on a layup. Walls converted 8-of-8 free throws, including two with 10.9 seconds remaining that completed the comeback. Tucker contributed two steals and three assists.

Senior guard Rashad Wahab added eight points for the Lions. Doss's younger brother Josh added six points for the Eagles.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.