Stevenson defense stops Hilltoppers
Foul trouble slowed Stevenson's offense in the first half, but nothing could stop the Patriots' defense from being its usual nasty self.
With top scorers Dylan Richter and Kevin Stineman each plagued by fouls in the first half, Stevenson scored just 16 points through two quarters in a nonconference boys basketball game at Glenbard West.
The Patriots still led the Hilltoppers 16-14 at the break thanks to an in-your-face defense that forced 16 turnovers, limited the hosts to 4-for-13 shooting, and limited the chances for Glenbard West's 6-foot-8 John Shurna.
With Richter and Stineman sparking Stevenson's offense in the second half, the visitors pulled away and left Glen Ellyn with a 46-33 victory.
Richter scored all 10 of his points in the second half, including a pair of baskets inside that he managed to get over Shurna.
Stineman, meanwhile, added 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half, including 3 baskets during a third quarter in which Stevenson (7-2) used a 16-6 advantage to take control of the game.
"We got in some foul trouble pretty early, but we still needed to try and play good defense," Richter said. "We were focusing on (Shurna) the whole time in practice and we knew we had to lock down on him."
Stevenson's Daniel Rebnord picked up 2 fouls in each half while trying to slow Shurna and managed to keep the Hilltoppers star to just 5 points on 2-of-4 shooting in the first half.
Shurna did get going more in the second half and finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, but it was Stevenson that earned the win.
"We're ugly," said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose, who roomed in college with Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder at Augustana. "There were a lot of fouls, even a lot of offensive fouls. But it was just two teams playing hard and getting after it."
Hoder hopes his squad can pick up a few pointers on the defensive end from the Patriots.
"They're a real good defensive team," he said. "We're striving to be like their defense. They went downstate last year with that defense, and I think it was great for our kids to see what downstate defense is like."
Hoder is also hoping to get a little more consistency on offense from some of Shurna's teammates so that opposing teams can't focus just on stopping his big guy.
Glenbard West (4-4) made just 12 field goals in the game and Shurna accounted for 8 of those, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"When we start playing better as a team and get some balance on offense, Shurna will be even better," Hoder said. "We've just got to keep working on getting better and getting more balance."