Rams stop Willowbrook in fourth
It definitely didn't have the feel of a typical Saturday night nonconference boys basketball game.
After going at each other with the fury of a state title game, Glenbard East pulled away to a 57-42 victory over neighborhood rival Willowbrook in front of a lively crowd in Villa Park.
The fourth quarter sealed the deal for Glenbard East (4-1), which outscored the Warriors 18-2 over the last 6 minutes, 27 seconds. The Rams held Willowbrook (4-1) scoreless for the final 5:08.
Phillip Reid's one-handed dunk gave Willowbrook a 40-39 lead early in the fourth quarter, but a technical foul on the play led to a 6-0 burst by Glenbard East. After a final Warriors basket, the Rams tallied the game's final 12 points.
The decisive run included a dunk by Glenbard East senior Paul Sanders, who transferred from Willowbrook after his sophomore year. Sanders made a triumphant return to his old gym by scoring a game-high 17 points to go along with 5 rebounds.
"After the first three quarters we weren't rattled but we were playing timid," Sanders said. "In the fourth quarter everybody picked it up. I know all these guys, all these guys are my buds. So I really wanted to beat them."
The game had an instant air of intensity in the first quarter. Willowbrook lunged to an 11-4 lead on Reid's 3-pointer, but the Rams soon built their own 5-point lead behind a pair of 3s by Jack Merrithey, who scored 11 points.
The lead changed hands eight times in the third quarter and early in the fourth before Glenbard East seized command.
"It was a 1 or 2-point game, and then they executed and we didn't," Warriors coach Tim Lavorato said of the fourth quarter. "It's a learning experience for us. We had a lot of game slippage and didn't execute real well."
Jon Hill scored 13 points and Lee Skinner added 10 for Glenbard East. Reid scored 10 points and Kyler Market 9 for the Warriors, but 17 of those points came in the first three quarters.
"We feel like we're a good defensive team," said Rams coach Scott Miller. "In the first half, give them a lot of credit. They torched us. In the fourth quarter we shut them down on the defensive end."