Glenbard East has too many weapons for Jacobs

Jacobs boys basketball coach Jim Hinkle got right to the point after facing high-powered Glenbard East in the 13th annual High School Hoops Showdown at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates on Saturday afternoon.

"I see they beat us in here, too," Hinkle said with a laugh after following Glenbard East coach Scott Miller and standouts Lee Skinner and Jon Hill to the media room to discuss the Rams' 77-51 victory. "What a great team.

"They have too many weapons and we couldn't defend all of them. We tried."

But the Golden Eagles (3-13) became the latest team to fail as the Rams improved to 17-1.

Skinner scored a game-high 18 points on 9-for-15 shooting, Hill had 14 of his 16 points after halftime and 11 rebounds and Zach Miller had 15 points and 9 assists.

"Our tempo and defense wears a lot of teams down with the intensity we bring," Skinner said after the Rams scored 25 points off 26 turnovers. "We push the tempo on offense and we don't let them get set up on defense."

Jacobs weathered the defensive pressure early and trailed only 16-14. A 3 by Kevin Priebe started an 11-point run to help the Rams lead 29-18 at halftime.

But the Golden Eagles withered under the full-court heat after the break with 9 third-quarter miscues as the Rams opened a 49-29 lead.

"In the third quarter and early in the fourth our pressure was much better," Scott Miller said after the Rams' 11th straight victory. "We got up in the passing lanes a little better and our rotations were a little more effective."

The Rams opened the fourth with a 16-2 blitz highlighted by Hill's blocked shot which never left his hand and led to Skinner's breakaway dunk.

Sean Meyer had 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting and 7 rebounds for Jacobs after missing two games with a concussion. Matt Schmidt also scored 12 points.

"We needed to be more patient and move the ball around and get openings," Meyer said. "We didn't do that very well in the third quarter."

Devin Parks added 8 points for the Rams as they adjusted to the big arena surroundings to shoot 55.7 percent from the field (34-for-61).

"That's part of what we do this for, with that hope and dream in mind," Miller said of the goal of playing on the big stage in Peoria. "To get the chance to play in that big arena."