Rams make their move at right time
Glenbard East has one goal in particular that it wants to accomplish every game, and it reached that goal Friday night on the road against Glenbard North.
Every time the Rams step on the floor they want to start the second half off strong. Glenbard East started quickly in that half as it went on to beat the Panthers 71-54.
"The first four minutes of the second half are the most important," Glenbard East guard Jack Merrithey said. "Our goal is to always try to put the other team away during that span. Tonight we had a lot of energy and we were able to do that."
Glenbard East (12-3, 5-1) was leading 36-26 at the break but went on a 16-6 in the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter. Zach Miller hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and Merrithey pitched in with a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper on the baseline during that spurt.
The Rams' perimeter shooters were getting open looks because the post duo of Lee Skinner and Paul Sanders did a great job finding the open shooters.
"In the first half North did a great job double teaming the post," Glenbard East coach Scott Miller said. "In the second half Paul and Lee did a good job finding our guards out of the post. When they did get the ball back out to the perimeter we were able to knock our shots down. That was the difference."
For Glenbard North coach Joe Larson it was frustrating watching the inside-outside game that Glenbard East featured.
"You have to pick your poison," Larson said. "Sanders is a very tough matchup down on the block. We chose to double-team the post everytime the ball got down there. We did a good job with that in the first half. But in the second half, it was a whole different story. They are a very good team."
The backcourt of Merrithey and Miller combined to score 29 points.
"It is a very nice luxury to have a solid point guard," Scott Miller said. "But with this team, we are fortunate enough to have two outstanding point guards that are interchangeable. It's a nice problem to have."
Sanders scored 14 points while Skinner grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the win.
Glenbard North's James Fleming started off slowly as he went scoreless in the first quarter but scored 12 of his team-high 15 points in the second quarter, including an 8-0 run himself that cut Glenbard East's lead to 23-20. Unfortunately for the Panthers (5-8, 3-3) they were never able to get any closer than that the rest of the game.
"I thought we were going to get ourselves back into the game during that stretch," Larson said. "Our crowd was in it at that point. Our defense just couldn't stop them after that."