Sophomore guard Adoni Vassilakis has four reasons why he’s thriving on Marist’s varsity.

Those reasons are named John, Angelo, Niko and Alex Vassilakis. They are his four older brothers who grew up with him in Homer Glen and played basketball at Lockport.

“They would always beat up on me,” Adoni said. “I feel like it gave me mental toughness and helped me become tough on the court. That’s helping against older guys right now.

“It means everything.”

The 6-foot-1 Vassilakis scored 20 points and had three steals Friday night, leading the host RedHawks to an 83-59 nonconference win over Evergreen Park in Mount Greenwood.

Marist (10-2) put on a dominant performance inside the lane. All but one of the RedHawks’ scores was either a 2-pointer or a free throw. Darshan Thomas, who finished with 15 points, knocked down their only 3-pointer with 1:36 left in the first half.

Marquis Vance had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Stephen Brown added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Achilles Anderson totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

Tre Dowdell led Evergreen Park (8-3) with 18 points.

Vassilakis, a natural left-handed shooter, picked up his share of layups driving in from that side.

It was definitely easier for him Friday night than those days in the driveway or in the gym when his older brothers denied him. He started playing basketball at age 5, and the quartet showed him no mercy.

“I used to get very frustrated,” Vassilakis said. “They would never let me score. I finally grew a little bit and got stronger, and it became much more of a competition when I got older.”

Thomas went to Iowa for academics and Angelo is running track for Miami of Ohio, while twins Niko and Alex are playing basketball for Joliet Junior College.

Why not follow in his brothers’ footsteps and go to Lockport? He said he admired the program coach Brian Hynes was running at Marist.

“I like coach Hynes, and when I came out here, this felt like a family,” Vassilakis said. “I liked the environment. I thought it was the best decision for me.”

Hynes, needless to say, was happy with that decision.

“He talks about his older brothers all the time, and we’re so grateful that he came here,” Hynes said of Vassilakis. “He’s like that junkyard dog that just wants to go to battle.

“He and Marquis lead the team in charges. Oh, God, they both bring in so much energy, and they are wonderful leaders. And they are both like that every day in practice.”

Vance has been lighting that fire coming off the bench.

“That’s what I like to bring — energy,” Vance said. “I love to rebound and get charges and being a leader.”

Marist dominated to the point where there was a running clock in the last five minutes of the game. It’s something Evergreen Park hasn’t seen this season.

The Mustangs peeled off five straight wins in November before opening December with tight back-to-back losses — a 71-70 setback to Oak Forest and a 68-66 loss to Oak Lawn.

Evergreen Park seemingly back on track with wins over Addison Trail, Bogan and Hinsdale South. The Mustangs have been beset by injuries, but many of the key players were in lineup Friday against Marist.

Vassilakis, meanwhile, has been known to get hot from beyond the 3-point line, but there was no need for it against Evergreen Park because he was succeeding inside.

“I want to do a little of everything,” he said. “I’ll shoot threes, but I also want to go in and finish.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.