OSWEGO – Whatever message Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez conveyed during halftime of Wednesday’s Southwest Prairie Conference game against Romeoville it was crystal clear to senior Noah Mason.

Mason scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half and the Wolves used a huge run to open the second half to defeat the Spartans, 64-59.

“We talked in the locker room and got a little bit chewed out, and then just came out on the court and started playing like we’re supposed to play,” Mason said. “After the half we got a few stops and scores and started to play with more confidence and started putting it together. I felt people got hot at some times and it was just a fun game.”

Oswego East (14-6, 6-2) scored the first 13 points of the third quarter to turn its 20-19 halftime lead into a 33-19 advantage with 3:48 left in the quarter.

Braydon Murphy had a couple baskets inside, Mason Lockett scored on a layup, Jehvion Starwood had a nifty move to the basket for another score - and also made two free throws - and Mason drilled his first of two 3-pointers in the second half during the run.

“They deserved it,” Romeoville coach Marc Howard said. “We didn’t play good basketball today. I think the game, all in all, it didn’t seem to have that flow in it. In the second half we were just flat and they came out and kicked our butt pretty good.”

The Spartans (14-7, 6-2) fought back to within 42-36 at the end of three quarters, as close as 45-41 early in the fourth quarter and to 59-54 in the final minute of the game.

Junior EJ Mosley Jr. got hot in the fourth quarter for the Spartans, scoring 12 of his 18 points.

“We knew (Mosley) was going to score so we were trying to prevent him as much as we could,” Mason said. “We tried to slow him down and keep him to only a few points at the end.”

After back-to-back dunks by Mason, the Wolves built a 51-41 lead with just under six minutes remaining. While not as pretty, he made his free throws to seal the game, too.

“He made some big free throws for us in the fourth quarter and did a good job,” Velasquez said. “I thought all our guys did. (Mason) Lockett stepped up and made some big free throws and I liked how we were taking care of the ball in the fourth quarter. We turned the ball over a little bit in the first half and valued it a bit more in the second half.”

Lockett had 13 points, Murphy chipped in nine points and Starwood scored eight points.

Starwood didn’t score until late in the second quarter, but it proved to be well worth it as his baseline drive and left-handed jam gave the Wolves an 18-16 lead, breaking a nearly six-minute scoring drought and earning a howl from public address announcer/boys soccer coach Steve Szymanski.

“He stayed positive, and we believe in him, and when it mattered it really showed that we care about each other,” Velasquez said “There are so many ways to impact the game other than scoring the ball. I thought he did a good job on defense, getting some rebounds and being active on the defensive end, and the offensive end even if buckets aren’t going for him.

“He does so many other things and we’re going to have some of these nights, and I like that we when he’s maybe not on his game we can still win against a quality team like Romeoville.”

DJ Porter Jr. and Kendall Cutler each had 10 points while 6-foot-11 junior Adam Walker had six points and 10 rebounds before fouling out for the Spartans

“We gave it all we got,” Howard said. “We went deep into the rotation. We had some guys have some off nights and we had some players, some reserves, come in and really give us a boost in the third quarter.”

After scoring just 19 in the first half, the Spartans scored 17 points in the final 3:02 of the third quarter, pulling to within 42-36 after a steal and a layup from Christian Harris.

“I wish we could’ve maybe not given up so many points in the second half,” Velasquez said, “(Mosley) is a really good player. He’s a load and we knew that going in. I’m proud of our effort. They executed on the offensive end. It was’t perfect, but there’s room for growth and still time left in the season and I like the direction we’re going right now.”

It was the second straight big win at home for the Wolves, but also their first game in a week.

“With all the snow days and stuff, we were away from each other for three days,” Velasquez said. “We had two good practices this past week and we’re putting an emphasis definitely on the days that we’re not playing that when we step in between these lines on practice days that it’s got to be on point. I thought we’ve been doing that since Christmas break.”