Panthers' Fleming lights up Wheaton North
It didn't matter where Glenbard North's James Fleming was on the floor in the second half, the ball was going up and it was hitting the bottom of the net.
After an extrememly tight first half, with Glenbard North (1-3, 2-0) leading Wheaton North 33-30 at half, Fleming decided to take the game over. After scoring 6 points in the first half, Fleming exploded for 22 second-half points to guide the Panthers to a 81-61 over Wheaton North.
It didn't matter if Fleming was at the top of the key, in the left corner, on the right wing or a couple of steps behind the 3-point line, he was getting shots up. With great accuracy too.
In the second half Fleming connected on 6-of-7 3-point attempts and stepped up when his team needed him most.
"One thing James did tonight was hit the shot when we really needed it," Glenbard North coach Joe Larson said. "Whenever they started to make a run, he came down the floor and would hit a huge shot. He did that for most of the second half."
Fleming stepped up the biggest when 6-foot-6 senior Evan Watkins picked up his fourth foul. Fleming hit five of his 3s after Watkins left the game.
"Evan is a big guy and we really need him on the floor," Fleming said. "We were able to pull away after he got in foul trouble for some reason. My teammates did a great job setting screens for me, and I was able to get a lot of open looks."
The Falcons (2-2, 0-1) had a rough go at it in the second half as they gave up 48 points and allowed the Panthers to shoot 16 of 27 from the floor.
"Right now we are trying to find our identity as a team," Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos said. "We played well in the first half, but we couldn't get anything going in the second. Fleming really buried us when he hit back-to-back 3s in the third quarter when we were trying to get back into it. That's what great players do."
Zach Dungree scored the Falcons first 10 points of the game and finished with a team-high 18 points. Fleming finished with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the win.