Glenbard East falls to Oswego East
It wasn't a tale of two halves for Korvante Davis and the Glenbard East boys basketball team.
No, it was more like a tale of one stellar quarter and three quarters they'd probably like to quickly forget.
"It was an amazing first quarter, probably one of the best we've ever had," Davis said. "It was just amazing."
Glenbard East scored the game's first 9 points, shot 10 of 12 in the first quarter and carried a 15-point lead after eight minutes. The next three quarters, though, was all Oswego East. The Wolves rolled to a 77-62 nonconference win.
"It wasn't overconfidence, we just got comfortable with the lead," Davis said. "We didn't adjust well and we didn't crack down on them when we had them."
The Rams (3-2) were nearly flawless in the first quarter. Offensively, Glenbard East hit its first eight shots of the game, had assists on six of its 10 field goals and had just two turnovers. Defensively, the Rams forced six turnovers and held the Wolves to 50 percent shooting from the field.
"We played with a lot of energy, we shared the basketball (and) we knocked shots down," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "We've done a good job of taking care of the ball this year."
After that first quarter things changed on both ends for the Rams.
Glenbard East shot just 2 of 10 from the field - a jumper and 3-pointer by James Peterkin - and committed 6 turnovers in the second quarter.
"It's pretty aggravating," Davis said. "I know we can be way better."
And the Wolves heated up from the floor, too.
After a Peterkin 3-pointer to open up the quarter, Oswego East scored 23 of the next 26 points to take a 36-34 halftime lead. The Wolves shot 9 of 13 from the field in the second quarter.
"After the first quarter we just stopped moving our feet on defense," Peterkin, who finished with a team-high 21 points, said. "We didn't do what we had to do. They made a big run and that's how we lost focus."
Still, the halftime message from Miller was straightforward.
"We tried to get back to how we were playing in the first quarter, crank up the intensity, defense, rotate, watch out for the turnovers, back cut, just the simple things to be successful," Davis said.
Early on in the third quarter, the message looked to be working. DaRon Hall hit a 3-pointer early that tied the game at 37. The Rams defense kept them within single digits for the next few minutes, but the shots weren't falling. Glenbard East went 3 of 12 from the field in the third quarter.
"It was kind of tough," Davis said.
And then Oswego East found its grove. The Wolves closed the third quarter on a 10-3 run that gave them a 60-45 lead.
In the fourth quarter Oswego kept their offensive intensity up, opening the quarter on a 17-7 run and opening a 77-52 lead, their biggest of the night.
"It was just frustration," Peterkin said. "We just got to keep our cool and keep playing and make sure we don't let them take the lead next time.
"This is a learning experience. We'll be better Friday."