LANSING | Kenny Doss couldn't wait to get back on the court.
The T.F. South senior had missed four games due to a rolled right ankle, but returned Thursday night and had 21 points as the Rebels beat Tinley Park 83-73 in a South Suburban Blue game.
"I was a little nervous coming in, but I got over it," Doss said. "Once I got on the court, I got comfortable and my teammates got me into the flow of the game."
Doss, a starter, came off the bench in the first quarter, and said he had no trouble adjusting to that role.
"It reminded me of last year when I came off the bench," Doss said. "I had a chance to watch and see how things developed. I wanted to get in there because we needed this game real bad."
The win put the Rebels (10-9, 6-2) above .500 for the first time this season.
Teammate David Stinson also returned after missing Tuesday's win over Rich East with food poisoning, He had four points -- all in the fourth quarter when the Rebels were fighting off a Tinley Park comeback.
"We did play a little sloppy," Stinson said. "We turned the ball over a lot, but we were able to come away with the win and that is what we needed -- a win."
South turned the ball over 20 times, while the Titans (6-13, 3-6) had 16 turnovers.
Rebels coach John O'Rourke said it was not a pretty win, but he'll take it.
"We needed this one," O'Rourke said. "Finally over .500."
He said his team needs to work on learning how to play with a lead.
"It seems every time we go up 10 or 14 points, we play like we are behind by that many," O'Rourke said. "We made too many bad passes, turned the ball over way too many times.
"We almost let them back in."
The Rebels trailed 2-0, then ran off 11 straight points and never trailed again. They led by as many as 16 -- 51-36 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Their early success was due to post player Illya Galloway. He finished with a double-doubles of 12 points and 10 rebounds. He had 11 of those points in the first half.
"My job is to get rebounds and control the boards," Galloway said. "The first half, the shots were falling for me."
Tinley Park made a run as Vincent Gooden hit 14 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter. The Titans closed within 66-60 with 4:03 left in the game, but the Rebels went on a 6-0 run.
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