In all fairness to the Lockport boys basketball team, the football team just finished its season Saturday evening. Many members of the roster didn’t even get a practice in when the Porters had to play their first game Monday evening.

That would likely explain a first quarter in which the Porters went just 5-of-15 shooting and trailed several times against Joliet Central. The talent they possess, though, gives them a chance against most teams.

That was evident in the second half when the Porters held the Steelmen to only four points in the third quarter. The offense shot 50% in the second half and got things together en route to a 61-46 victory in the opening round of the WJOL Tournament at St. Francis University in Joliet.

Lockport clearly showed some rust to start. They led 5-2 midway through the first quarter as both teams struggled to shoot the ball. The teams exchanged leads the rest of the opening quarter with Lockport ultimately finishing on top 14-12.

The second quarter was just as tight initially, but a 14-2 run had Lockport up 29-17 with just over two minutes to go. While the Steelmen closed the second on a 6-0 run to shave it to 29-23 at the midway point, that 14-2 stretch seemed to shake something within them.

“We noticed in the first half we were doing a poor job of staying in front of the ball defensively,” Lockport coach Dave Wilson said. “We were gambling, not moving our feet and taking chances. At halftime the message was to just be solid, show our chests, stack stops and push it defensively.”

That’s exactly what they did.

The third quarter belonged entirely to Lockport. The Porters outscored Joliet Central 18-4 in the period, including a 10-2 start. Joliet Central didn’t score any points in the second half until 3:44 remained in the third when James Lee made a layup.

“We just came out swinging,” Porters senior Owen Nemecek said. “Our defense and offense weren’t great the first half. We came out the second half, made some adjustments and just showed up.”

Lockport led 47-27 entering the fourth, but credit the Steelmen for fighting in the first half. Heck, give them credit for refusing to quit in the fourth, too, as they outscored Lockport 19-14. It just wasn’t enough to overcome the lopsided third quarter.

Again, though, Lee felt the first half built confidence for this group.

“I’m actually feeling pretty good,” he said. “We did better than I expected and we’ll be better moving forward.”

After going just 2-26 last year, this year’s Joliet Central team is extremely young. Coach Lawrence Thompson carries a pair of seniors, but its all underclassmen otherwise.

“It was the first game for a lot of the kids,” Thompson said. “I’ve got two freshmen (who play a lot), two sophomores starting with a junior and two seniors. There’s going to be growing pains, but this is what you do when you’re trying to get back to being a competitive team.”

Lee led the Steelmen with 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-10 shooting. Lockport’s leaders were Nojus Venckus (15 points, 5-of-8 shooting, four stelas), Nedas Venckus (15 points, two steals), Nemecek (12 points, 6-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds) and Tace Schaaf (eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, five rebounds, three steals).

Next up, Joliet Central will play Minooka on Wednesday in the second round of the WJOL Tournament. Lockport will play Lincoln-Way West the same day.