Glenbard West edges Willowbrook to keep title at home

Down a point with 3:34 left, Glenbard West's top player fouled out and it looked like Willowbrook would defend its crown at the Glenbard West Holiday Classic.

But not so fast. Even with Evan Taylor on the bench, these Hilltoppers (8-4) had enough fight and points down the stretch to pull out a thrilling 53-51 victory in the championship game Thursday night in Glen Ellyn.

Kyle Dell, who like Taylor was named all-tourney, saved his best for last. The junior guard scored 9 of his team-leading 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer for a 45-44 lead and then both ends of a bonus situation for a 47-46 lead with 3:01 left. Dell followed that with a runner on the baseline to tally seven straight points as the hosts held on for the 2-point win over the 9-2 Warriors.

"We huddled up after Evan fouled out and talked about how we had to all be aggressive, because Evan's usually the aggressor and he creates for everyone else," said Dell, who knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter but then did not score again until his heroics in the final quarter. "When we're not aggressive that's when turnovers happen. We just all said, 'Just drive to the basket. A basket's better than a turnover.' "

Dell provided the offensive spark, but it was the Hilltoppers' team defense that played just as big a role. Taylor blocked four shots before fouling out, Caden Phillips held Warriors star Ethan Schuemer to just four points and sharpshooter Matus Masys worked hard for his 13 points - three of which came when he hit a long-range jumper in the final seconds.

"Once Evan fouled out the kids all stepped up," Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder said. "It was a nice win for us. All of their starters can all score and get their own shots. It's not like you can just double Schuemer. You just can't do that.

"But our kids did a nice job getting us some stops when we needed to."

Matthew Myers led Willowbrook with 14 points and was named all-tourney along with teammate Schuemer. Masys added 13 points, but an off night shooting-wise kept the Warriors from pulling out the win.

"We average over 70 points … I don't know if it was just because it was three games over three days, but we shot 18 of 61 from the field and we had a lot of good looks," Warriors coach Chris Perkins said. "We had energy defensively, but for our shots, a lot of them came up short. We held them to 53 points, so that's a game we should have won. We just didn't have the legs to finish plays offensively."