Boys Basketball: Bell back to form as OPRF stops Panthers

Updated: January 7, 2012 12:34AM

Sitting out five games with an injury was one of the most difficult things Oak Park-River Forest senior Ka’Darryl Bell has endured during his basketball career.

Bell tore a ligament in his right wrist after crashing hard to the ground on a layup attempt during a game against Downers Grove South Dec. 3.

“It was so hard being out,” Bell said. “I just had to grit my teeth and cheer my team on every game. I had to be a coach on the bench.

Bell is returning to the form that earned him a scholarship to Bradley University.

In just his third game back, the 6-foot-1 guard scored a game-high 18 points Friday to help host OPRF beat Proviso West 72-54 and improve to 4-0 in the West Suburban Silver.

“Having him back is huge,” OPRF coach Matt Maloney said. “He’s just so explosive, especially in the open floor. He’s so tough to guard. Having him back opens up our perimeter game.”

The Huskies (10-3) never trailed, jumping out to a 20-8 lead after one quarter.

Proviso West (2-2 in Silver) got as close as 36-23 early in the third quarter, but OPRF responded with a 10-0 run and cruised the rest of the way.

“Early in the conference schedule we were kind of waiting until the third quarter and fourth quarter to break things open,” Maloney said. “One of our goals was to set the tone early and build on the lead.”

Proviso West was led by Lawrence Moore (15 points, 4 steals), Taylor Watkins (13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Eric Field (9 points, 5 rebounds).

OPRF also received key contributions from Gabe Levin (17 points, 10 rebounds), Alex Nesnidal (12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals), Jakari Cammon (9 points, 2 steals) and Thomas Ross (4 points, 5 rebounds).

Bell scored 12 of his points in the second half.

“It feels really good being back,” Bell said. “I missed it when I was gone. After sitting out so long, any time I’m on the court now, I still get an adrenaline rush. I’m getting back to full strength. I’m still going to physical therapy two or three times a week. It’s getting there slowly.”

© 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.