Downers North ends skid against Glenbard West
Although Glenbard West has been playing competitive basketball, the new year hasn't started out particularly well for the Hilltoppers in the won-loss column.
That didn't change with Friday night's 55-54 loss to Downers Grove North in Glen Ellyn.
Coach Tim Hoder's squad battled West Suburban Silver rival York last Friday night - the Hilltoppers' first game since the holiday break - but came up 5 points short.
The next night against nonconference opponent St. Charles East, Glenbard West went toe-to-toe with the Saints in a contest that featured 12 lead changes. However, the Saints prevailed thanks to a late fourth-quarter surge and handed the Hilltoppers their fourth straight loss.
So something had to give Friday night when the Hilltoppers hosted Downers Grove North - a team that had dropped six straight going into the game. But on this particular evening, neither team wanted to give in.
The Hilltoppers, who trailed 41-25 early in the third quarter, chipped away at Downers North's lead throughout the second half, and finally tied it up 52-52 with 21.5 seconds remaining on Tommy Schutt's putback of a missed shot.
However, guard Nick LeBeau, who gunned in three 3-pointers to give Downers North its commanding third-quarter lead, sank a free throw with 9.6 seconds left to put the Trojans ahead 53-52. That 1-point margin held up as the Trojans walked out of Biester Gym with a victory.
"We battled to get ourselves back in," Hoder said. "We let their shooters have a little too much space, and they got a lead on us. Our kids played hard and battled back. We had opportunities, but we just didn't capitalize on them. But I'm proud of the way our kids battled back."
Glenbard West held Downers North (6-11, 2-4) scoreless for the first 6:19 of the first quarter. Then the Trojans stormed back and rattled off 11 unanswered points to take a 1-point lead at the end of the quarter.
The teams exchanged the lead six times in the second quarter. Tyler Warden, who led the Hilltoppers with 16 points, put Glenbard West out in front, 20-19, with a bucket underneath. But the Trojans went on a 7-0 run to take a 26-20 lead and held a 6-point advantage at intermission.
"We've been down like that before and usually we just kind of just give up, but this time we really dug deep and came back," Warden said. "I'm proud of our effort, but we just came up short. (Glenbard West's record) really doesn't show how we play as a team and how close all of our games have been."
The road in the West Suburban Silver doesn't get any easier for the Hilltoppers (3-13, 0-5), who host a formidable Oak Park-River Forest squad tonight, Pack The Place night at Glenbard West.
"That'll be a tough game for us," Hoder said. "Oak Park is always tough; they're athletic. They play a ton of kids; they've got great depth. They'll pressure you so it'll be a tough matchup."