Boys Basketball: Lyons’ Kenneth Smith sets tone vs Oak Park

Kenneth Smith has been a big part of the reason for Lyons’ revival this season.

On Friday night, the senior guard scored a career-high 28 points as Lyons pulled of its biggest upset of the season with a 65-53 West Suburban Silver victory over visiting Oak Park-River Forest.

Lyons handed the Huskies their first conference loss to set up a showdown Jan. 20 when Glenbard West plays at Oak Park in a battle for first place.

Smith scored 15 points in the first half to nearly outscore the Huskies at halftime. Lyons led 36-19. Moments earlier, Lyons took its biggest lead of the game, 36-17, on Smith’s running jumper with 54 seconds before the break.

Lyons (6-9, 2-2), which lost seven in a row earier this season, won its fourth consecutive game.

“We are a very unselfish team,” Smith said. “We’re very confident. Oak Park is a great team. They were undefeated in the conference. Every game we go in to, we’re the underdog.”

Oak Park (10-4, 4-1) lost for the third time in its last four games. Lyons led 23-12 after the first quarter.

“That’s the most points we’ve given up [in a quarter], since I can’t remember,” Huskies coach Matt Maloney said. “That’s this year, or any year.”

“We had two of the best days of practice this week and yesterday was one of the worst. You’ll play how you practice.”

The Huskies’ top two scorers, Bradley recruit Ka’Darryl Bell and Gabe Levin, did not score in the first quarter. Levin (10 rebounds) finished with 16 points, 12 in the second half, and Bell had seven.

Oak Park’s Alex Nesnidal had 15 points and Jakari Cammon added 11 points.

Lyons was aided by Jarryd Heath’s 12 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting from the three-point arc. Smith shot 10-of-17 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

“We feel we can beat anyone,” Heath said. “We’re playing at a very high level.”

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