WWS can only slow Glenbard E. down
Wheaton Warrenville South's zone defense could only do so much Friday night against Glenbard East's offensive firepower.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the slow-starting Rams in this DuPage Valley Conference contest, thanks in large part to hosts' defense.
But in the end, the Rams' balanced inside-outside attack - powered by a pair of talented ballhandlers in guards Zach Miller and Jack Merrithey - was just too tough, forcing Wheaton Warrenville South (5-3, 1-2) to abandon its zone and try to man up on the Rams (6-2, 2-1), who finished with four players scoring in double figures in a 54-51 victory that was only that close after the Tigers made a trio of 3s down the stretch.
"We knew it would be a tough one playing on the road against a good Wheaton South team, and the zone for a little bit there gave us some problems," Rams coach Scott Miller said. "But we did a good job kind of pulling away late in the third quarter and into the fourth, but they wouldn't go away, which is a credit to them."
Jon Hill, who sparked the Rams with 10 points off the bench, started his team's strong finish with a 3-pointer for a 36-32 lead with less than two minutes left in the quarter. Merrithey followed with a three-point play and when Zach Miller's leaner fell in with just two seconds left on the clock, Glenbard East led 41-34 after three quarters of play.
"We knew we had to come out and get a (bigger) lead in the second half because we knew their offense could kill us," said Zach Miller, who 11 points and 5 assists.
Once the Rams padded their lead a little the Tigers were forced to press more, and that led right into the hands of the visitors' guards, who started hooking up with post players like Paul Sanders and Lee Skinner for easy buckets. Sanders paced the Rams with 14 points, while Skinner had a team-high 9 rebounds and added a pair of inside baskets in the second half.
"We were kind of struggling with their zone early, but once we got to the fourth quarter and they were playing us man and trying to press, we got easy buckets," said Sanders, whose baseline dunk lifted his team to a 50-40 advantage with 2:19 left.
The Tigers, however, kept battling as Will Dolatkowski had a pair of 3s in each half to finish with a game-high 20 points, while 6-foot-6 Dan Hohenstein scored 16 points, mostly in the paint.
"In crunch time, on important possessions, they made plays and we made mistakes," Tigers coach Mike Healy said. "We've got to be good every night. We can't be average and win against a team like Glenbard East."