Glenbard East scores big win over York

Glenbard East's boys basketball team didn't score for nearly four minutes at the start of Saturday's game against York.

In the second quarter it looked like the Rams might not stop scoring.

The second-quarter barrage powered Glenbard East to a 74-42 nonconference win over the Dukes in Lombard, keeping the Rams unbeaten at 7-0.

York (4-3) played well in the opening quarter despite being without leading scorer Will Sullivan, who sat out after tweaking a lingering calf injury during a 34-point performance in Friday's loss to Proviso West. Sophomore guard David Cohn scored 8 of his 12 points as the Dukes took a 12-11 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter.

Sparked by its trapping defense, that's when Glenbard East exploded.

The Rams forced 12 second-quarter turnovers while closing the half with a 21-2 run. A 10-2 run to start the third quarter built Glenbard East's advantage to 46-18. Illinois State-bound Johnny Hill scored 15 of his 20 points in the frame to lead the outburst, highlighted by an alley-oop dunk on a perfect pass from Zach Miller.

“They came out strong and punched us in the mouth in the beginning, and we had a hard time keeping our composure,” Hill said. “It took a while to get going, but after the guys started coming together and playing as one, then we got going and extended the lead.”

Glenbard East held its biggest lead of 69-34 midway through the fourth quarter. York struggled mightily to create offense without Sullivan, shooting 38 percent from the field and hitting 2 of 7 free throws.

“You can't risk a kid of his caliber out there, and I'd never jeopardize his health out there,” said York coach Dominic Cannon. “You've got to bring everyone and have your ‘A' game against a team like that, and we just didn't have it tonight.”

Mike Despinich scored all 8 of his points in the second half for York. Dante Bailey and sophomore Tahron Harvey each had 10 points for Glenbard East.

“I thought we were a little flat early and we were pressing our shots,” said Rams coach Scott Miller. “I was pleased at least that we were able to handle some adversity. That's the first time all year we've had things that haven't necessarily gone our way, and we were able to handle it.”