Snapping out of a dry spell, Omar Saleh hits huge 3-pointer for Oak Lawn. His mindset? ‘Got to keep shooting.’

Senior forward Omar Saleh got the message Monday night for Oak Lawn.

His teammates and coaches have been imploring him to stop passing up open outside shots. Even after missing his first three 3-pointers, Saleh didn’t hesitate with the game on the line.

“You’ve just got to keep shooting,” Saleh said. “They’ll hit eventually. In the fourth quarter, with that one that really mattered, it fell.

“It felt great. My senior year, it’s great to end this Thanksgiving tournament with a win.”

Saleh made sure of that. His 3-pointer with 50 seconds left broke a tie and lifted the host Spartans to a 58-54 win over Crete-Monee in the championship game of the inaugural Len Scaduto Classic.

Jack Dempsey poured in 23 points to lead Oak Lawn (4-0). Marc Harvey finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Ben Delberto chipped in with six points.

Joe Jones scored 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Warriors (3-1). Zyheir Gardner and Uriel Chapman added nine points apiece, while Zyon Floyd contributed seven rebounds.

Saleh, meanwhile, grabbed nine rebounds and played tough defense inside. He finished with just five points, but Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes was thrilled to see Saleh take and make the biggest shot.

“Omar’s put in a lot of work on his 3-point shot,” Rhodes said. “This is great for him for that shot to fall in that spot. He hadn’t shot a 3-pointer in our first three games and he was passing them up in practice.

“We told him, ‘You’ve got to hit some threes for us.’”

After Saleh’s 3-pointer, Harvey hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to seal the victory.

Saleh is part of what Dempsey called the Spartans’ “Big Three” of Dempsey, Saleh and Harvey. They’re the three returning starters who all have major experience.

Saleh has worked a long time to earn the right to be one of those guys.

“Growing up seeing Oak Lawn basketball grow to where it’s been at these last few years, it inspired me to be one of those seniors leading the way to keep that success going,” Saleh said. “I’m really excited to take on that role this year.”

Saleh did not start playing basketball until sixth grade, but after his first year at Oak Lawn, he was all-in on the sport.

“I played football and volleyball my freshman year, in addition to basketball, but I gave it all up to focus on basketball after that,” he said. “It’s the culture. Freshman year, I watched those guys have so much fun and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

“I decided to pour all of my soul into basketball.”

Dempsey sees Saleh as a glue guy who can do all the little things for the Spartans. But when he can do the biggest things? Even better.

“Omar knew that he’d have to be good on the glass, defense and rebounding, but we’ve been on his tail a bit about passing up open shots,” Dempsey said. “He had the confidence and the mindset to take that shot in that situation. That was great to see.”

When Oak Lawn and Reavis decided to end the long-running Spartan-Ram Classic and hold separate tournaments, Oak Lawn made the decision to name its new event after Scaduto, who died in May. The Hall of Fame coach won over 400 games at the school.

“He was a pillar of the basketball community and definitely deserving,” Rhodes said. “And it’s obviously great that we won the first one.”

Thanks to Saleh believing in his shot.

“It’s all about the extra work that I’ve put in,” Saleh said. “So I could be ready for chances like that.”