Erkins helps Raiders rally to OT triumph
Glenbard South 86, Glenbard East 81 (OT)
It was like an entire season wrapped into one dizzying opener.
Glenbard South and Glenbard East put on a show at the District 87 Thanksgiving boys basketball tournament Monday in Glen Ellyn, with South pulling out an 86-81 victory in overtime.
Louis Erkins tallied 6 of his 18 points in the extra period for the Raiders, who trailed the entire game until taking their first lead midway through the fourth quarter.
"We got a big win out there," Erkins said. "We had to fight through some troubles, but we got it done. We all huddled up at the start of the fourth quarter and decided it was our time to step up."
A 17-5 run vaulted Glenbard South to a 68-61 lead with two minutes left in regulation, but the Rams rallied to tie it twice in the final minute. Zach Miller's bucket with 25 seconds left made it 74-74 and sent the game to overtime.
Erkins and Paul Sanders traded baskets to keep it tied, but the Raiders slowly pulled away as foul trouble hounded the Rams.
Sanders, who scored a game-high 25 points, fouled out first. Then Miller, who added 20 points, fouled out. Finally, Lee Skinner, who chipped in 13 points and 9 boards, fouled out.
It was too much to overcome for Glenbard East, which was outscored 7-3 in the final 51 seconds.
"We had a couple of silly fouls early, and they add up late," said Rams coach Scott Miller. "Part of that's being the first game, and you have to get through some of that. We'll regroup and we'll be fine."
Several times Glenbard East built its biggest lead of 9 points, the latest time with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Glenbard South sliced away over the next several minutes as forward Jordan Harks scored 8 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Marshall added 16 points off the bench while Sam Mitchell tallied 10 points. Ryan Martin scored 11 points for Glenbard East.
"That was a little bit of our senior leadership there, being able to bounce back," said Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke. "We struggled to close it out, but that's just showing that it's early in the season."