In need of inspiration, Oak Lawn’s Robert Wagner looks at tattoo on his arm of a beloved uncle. ‘I hoop for him.’

Oak Lawn’s Robert Wagner has several tattoos that he says reflect who he is as a person.

One in particular is especially meaningful for the senior guard. It’s one on the inside of his left arm that he looks at for inspiration.

“I express myself through my tattoos,” Wagner said. “There’s a lot of meaning to them. The first one I got means the most. It says ‘RIP Rich’ for an uncle I was very close with who died when I was young.

“I hoop for him.”

Wagner has done a great job of that all season for the Spartans.

He showed off his strong all-around game again Tuesday night, scoring 13 points to help host Oak Lawn top crosstown rival Richards 70-56 in a South Suburban Red game.

Corey Lee led the Spartans (19-8, 9-3) with 18 points. Eduardo Chiquito and Henry Martinez each scored 11 points, with Chiquito adding seven rebounds. Ayham Salah chipped in with nine points.

Camren King paced Richards (9-18, 3-9) with 16 points and six rebounds. Eddie Hrebic scored 15 points and La-Terion Colbert added 13.

Wagner tries to bring excitement and enthusiasm to the court and spread energy to his teammates. He said Lee has inspired him to do that.

“It honestly comes from Corey,” Wagner said. “When I see him scoring, yelling and screaming, it gets me hyped up. We all want to play like that.

“I try to get my teammates very into it. I want to crash the rebounds and get my teammates the ball. I take charges. I put my body on the line out there.”

Lee has an equal appreciation for what Wagner brings to the Spartans.

“Once me and Robert get going, it brings everybody together and gets the juices flowing,” Lee said. “Robert’s always been a hype man right with me. He’s a really good defender. He gets rebounds. He does all of that.”

Wagner had some moments that certainly brought his teammates energy Tuesday night, coming through with a key putback with six seconds left in the third quarter to stop a 7-0 run and give Oak Lawn a 56-44 lead.

He scored on a drive early in the fourth quarter to make it 60-45, and the Spartans cruised from there.

“Robert’s kind of our glue guy,” Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes said. “He sticks everything together for us. He’s really good on defense. He brings great energy and activity. We ask him to face-guard players, and he does a great job with it because he’s so quick and agile.

“Offensively, he’s kind of our secondary ball handler. He’s a good passer. He’s unselfish. He’s a good rebounder. He can shoot it a little bit. He does a little bit of everything.”

Down 20 points early in the second half, Richards rallied within nine behind the hot shooting of Hrebic — who hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter — and strong inside play of King.

The Bulldogs got no closer, though.

“We had our chances,” Richards coach Kyle Rathbun said. “We missed quite a few layups. We’re still young and learning. We’re starting a freshman. We have to continue learning how to win.

“We had our opportunities and we just didn’t take advantage.”

Meanwhile, it was a happy night for Oak Lawn, which had clinched the outright South Suburban Red title with Evergreen Park’s loss Friday to Lemont.

The Spartans celebrated winning back-to-back conference titles for the first time in program history by cutting down a net following Tuesday’s home finale.

Of course, beating Richards in front of a huge crowd is also fun.

“It feels very good,” Wagner said. “We were very prepared. We knew it was going to be packed and we had to get the win.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.