Glenbard South 49, Yorkville 35

It felt like just another night to Andy Manson.

Twenty rebounds later, Glenbard South's 6-foot-6 senior center had tied the program record for boards in a game.

Manson's monster effort paved the way for the Raiders to claim a 49-35 Western Sun Conference boys basketball win over Yorkville on senior night Friday in Glen Ellyn.

The regular-season finale victory boosted Glenbard South's overall record to 15-10 -- three times as many wins as the Raiders had all of last year. Their 8-6 record in the conference seals a top-half finish.

It's perfect momentum as the Raiders head into the Class 3A playoffs that begin next week. Glenbard South, the fifth seed in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional, opens Wednesday at the Aurora Central Catholic regional against No. 12 Marmion.

"They fall where they fall, and I just got lucky they were falling my way," Manson said of the 20 rebounds. "It was a little bit of luck, that's all rebounding is. It's nice having a couple of inches height advantage and I have long arms, so that always works in my advantage to get up there a little higher than they do."

It was more than luck, though, as Manson found himself ripping down the ball and taking full advantage of Yorkville's 7-of-23 second-half shooting.

While Glenbard South never trailed, the Foxes (6-21, 0-14) still pulled within 24-21 early in the third quarter. The Raiders closed the quarter on a 16-6 run and took a 40-27 lead to the final period.

"We just all worked together well as a team," said Raiders senior guard Brian Baranyi, who had 8 points along with junior Louis Erkins. "Ever since the New Year started I think we've been on a pretty good roll. Hopefully, we'll be able to use that momentum to take into the regionals."

Glenbard South nearly pulled away in the first half, opening an 18-10 margin midway through the second quarter. Yorkville, however, answered with a 7-0 run to briefly crawl closer.

Jordan Rollins scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half to lead the Foxes. Manson, though, dominated even more by scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds after halftime.

"Manson's a beast," Raiders coach Wade Hardtke said with a laugh. "He just gets better and better as the season goes on. I think we're just now starting to see what he's capable of doing."