Jermell Lymon lights fire as Shepard shocks Evergreen Park. But don’t sleep on Payton Crims. ‘He can do everything.’

Shepard’s Jermell Lymon hit the first basket to start Friday night’s game against Evergreen Park and then did it again to open the second half.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard scored a lot more after that, finishing with a career-high 29 points. But his early baskets helped spark the Astros, according to teammate Payton Crims.

“He can shoot the basketball, and the name of the game is to put the ball in the basket,” Crims said. “He did a good job of that, and he threw us all some good passes.”

That’s not all, either.

Crims, a senior guard/forward, added 16 points and nine rebounds as host Shepard shocked the Mustangs for a 78-66 South Suburban Red victory in Palos Heights.

Heading into the week, Shepard (13-15, 3-10) had a 1-9 record at home. But the Astros beat Epic Academy 91-62 before surprising Evergreen Park (16-14, 6-7) two days later.

“We’re playing as a team,” Lymon said. “We’re moving the ball and finding the open man.”

Lymon was open early and often. He scored nine of his team’s 18 points in the first quarter and 10 of the Astros’ 24 points in the third.

His father, also named Jermell, was a linebacker at Richards, but the younger Lymon seemed destined to play basketball.

“I could shoot when I was 4,” Lymon said. “He put me in organized basketball. Ever since then, I’ve always been able to shoot.

“I played both football and basketball until I was 12 and gave up football to concentrate on basketball.”

While Lymon’s shooting talent looks effortless, a lot of labor goes into it.

“He works really hard,” Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello said of Lymon. “We have partner shooting game where teams have to run or do wall sits, and he and Payton battle pretty hard against each other.

“It’s pretty cool to watch.”

Chiuccariello also enjoyed watching Lyman’s opening basket, allowing himself a tiny fist pump when it went in. He said the reason he did that was because the Astros executed the first play to perfection.

Little did Chiuccariello know that it would spark a 7-0 run to start the game, and the Astros would never trail.

“We needed that basket just to get going,” Chiuccariello said. “We needed that first shot to get a little confidence going.”

Nolan Sexton led Evergreen Park with 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, as the Mustangs cut a 19-point deficit to 10 but could get no closer.

Billy Buchanan had 13 points off the bench for the Mustangs. Ulises Cardenas added 12.

Meanwhile, Shepard is starting to heat up again. Since winning the Elgin Holiday Tournament in late December, the Astros went 3-8 before beating Epic.

“That was a good game for us,” Crims said. “It gave us a lot of confidence. The coach has put in a good game plan, and we just execute it. We’re just going out there and making it happen.”

“We need to make a late run like this heading into the postseason,” Chiuccariello said.

Both of Shepard’s leaders are in a state of limbo about what happens after high school. Both said they want to play basketball in college.

Lymon is considering the junior college route so he can built up his body for a couple of years and then head to a four-year school.

Crims has interest from NCAA Division III Monmouth and also Moraine Valley Community College.

Lymon said he wouldn’t mind being teammate with Crims in college.

“He’s the heart of the team and comes out there and gives 110%,” Lymon said. “He can play defense. He rebounds. He’s a knockdown, midrange shooter.

“He can do everything.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.