Special moment for Weber family
There have been a lot of memorable moments in Dave Weber's boys basketball coaching career at Glenbrook North.
It would figure to take something special to top winning the 2005 Class AA state title with Jon Scheyer. That's what made Friday night so memorable in the Class 4A Niles North sectional championship before a full house in Skokie.
Weber's junior son Austin had 14 points and a key steal with a minute left as the top-seeded Spartans (23-4) held off third-seed Notre Dame 67-61.
"I grew up watching this and my dad coach," Weber said, "and I always dreamed about winning a regional and a sectional. Now we're in the Elite Eight."
Alex Dragicevich had a team-high 17 points as the Spartans won their 14th straight game to advance to Tuesday's 8 p.m. supersectional at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
They'll face Waukegan (24-4), which beat Warren 71-69 on Jereme Richmond's 40-footer at the buzzer, for the third time this season. Glenbrook North lost 67-64 on Dec. 5 but won 76-71 in the Central Suburban League title game Feb. 25.
And the Webers hope it could turn into another special father-son moment.
"It's really special and a dream come true for me as a coach and a father," Dave Weber said of Austin, who played for the Grant varsity his freshman year. "It isn't always easy coaching your son. He fought through a lot of things where early he was injured, he wanted to start and he had to fight for a position.
"Probably the greatest thing to happen in my coaching career was having my son play for me and winning a sectional."
Weber made a crucial play as Notre Dame (20-9) had cut a 51-39 deficit to 61-57 and had the ball after the Spartans missed the front end of two 1-and-1s.
The 6-foot-4 Weber snagged a fumbled pass along the sideline near midcourt and was fouled on a drive. He hit both free throws with 51 seconds left and the Dons never got closer than 65-61 with 12 seconds left.
"I knew we had to have something big - and I just came up with something big," Weber said.
He also dogged long-range threat Jimmy Martin most of the night. Martin had 13 points but was 2-for-6 behind the 3-point arc.
"He was chasing (Martin) everywhere," Dave Weber said. "He was just relentless."
Shawn Wallace had 21 points to lead the Dons. Spartans guard Connor Nass (11 points) also kept Mike DiGregorio under control with 9 points on 1-for-7 shooting and 6 assists.
And the Spartans showed they are more on offense than just Dragicevich, who had 13 points en route to a 37-30 halftime lead.
Jordan Schmidt (11 points, 4 assists) and Michael Phillips (8 points) combined to score their first 14 second-half points en route to a 12-point lead.
"This year we have five starters who can score," Phillips said.
That balance has the Spartans one win from a trip to Peoria.