'Explosive' Rams detonate against Falcons

Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos kept coming back to the word "explosive" to describe Glenbard East.

Maybe it had something to do with the pack of dynamite the Rams threw at the Falcons in the third quarter of Friday's 78-55 Glenbard East victory in Lombard.

Leading 31-27 at halftime, the Rams (18-5, 9-3 DuPage Valley Conference) came out determined to make amends for their subpar start. They outscored the Falcons 29-14 in the third and led by 28 when they pulled their starters midway through the fourth.

"We just came out and we were just too tense," said sophomore guard Zach Miller, before going for stitches after suffering a busted lip in the third quarter. "We weren't letting things come to us and playing basketball. We missed a lot of layups."

Miller started the third by driving forcefully through the lane to earn a three-point play. Then he stole the ball near midcourt and dished to Lee Skinner for another three-point play, and the Rams were on their way, scoring 15 points in a little more than two minutes.

"They're an explosive team," Nazos said. "Any of those first five can put up 20 on any night. ... They're a good team. They have a lot of weapons and they can hurt you in a lot of different ways."

From the outside junior guard Jack Merrithey hurt Wheaton North (7-16, 2-10) by making five of his eight 3-point shots to finish with 15 points. Down low senior Paul Sanders punished the Falcons with 21 points,11 rebounds and 4 blocks.

"He was an animal tonight," Miller said of Sanders. "When they got the ball down low, you knew Paul was either blocking it or contesting it, then him or Lee (Skinner) were going to get the board. They played great tonight. Real impressive."

Skinner added 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Miller totaled 18 points, 7 assists and 3 steals.

"You've got to be good on all five guys," Nazos said. "You can't let any one guy hurt you too bad, I guess is what it has to be. They all can score a little bit, you just have to make sure it's a little bit. They're explosive and they're hard to guard, and they do get some things off their defense a little bit."

And with their regional opener just 11 days away, the Rams feel like they just keep improving.

"That's what we want," coach Scott Miller said. "We're playing our best basketball. Every game seems to be a little bit better than the previous one."

Glenbard East 78, wheaton north 55

Wheaton North - Small 0 0-0 0, Bradley 6 0-2 13, Fitzpatrick 2 2-6 6, Schalk 2 1-2 5, Martin 4 2-2 10, Dungee 3 3-5 10, Matosian 2 0-0 5, Graham 0 0-0 0, Finley 1 0-0 2, Haney 1 0-0 2, Barry 0 0-0 0, Nelson 0 0-0 0, Folz 0 0-0 0, Agresti 0 0-0 0, Dania 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 8-17 55.

Glenbard East - Miller 4 9-10 18, Merrithey 5 0-0 15, Hill 2 2-3 6, Sanders 8 5-5 21, Skinner 3 1-2 7, Havenga 1 0-2 2, Martin 2 1-2 5, Kernats 0 0-0 0, Coleman 0 0-0 0, Parks 0 0-0 0, Lahey 1 0-0 2, Borosek 0 0-0 0, LIttle 0 0-0 0, Koudi 1 0-0 2, Kjeldson 0 0-0 0 . Totals 27 18-24 78.

Wheaton North 15 12 14 14 -55

Glenbard East 11 20 29 18 -78

3-point baskets: WN: Bradley, Dungee, Matosian. GE: Merrithey 5, Miller. Fouled out: None.