St. Charles East edges Glenbard West
As St. Charles East basketball coach Brian Clodi aptly said in his postgame comments, “it was one of those find-a-way-to-win type games.”
The Saints (12-13) did just that, going on a 9-0 surge late in the game to pull out a 54-45 nonconference victory over Glenbard West (8-16) Tuesday night in St. Charles.
Throughout a substantial portion of the second half, the Saints had to find their way with leading scorer Kendall Stephens on the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 5:21 left in the third quarter and the Hilltoppers ahead, 32-31.
“I was hoping that the game would be close when I got back in,” said Stephens, who got his wish as he returned to the court with 5:37 remaining and the game tied at 37-37.
The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard made up for lost time, as he drained a long 3-pointer just 20 seconds upon his return to put the Saints on top for good, 40-37.
“After I hit that 3, we got the momentum,” said Stephens, who finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field while adding 8 rebounds, 4 steals and a pair of blocked shots.
On Glenbard’s next possession, Stephens stole the inbounds pass and ignited a fast break that resulted in Spencer Motley’s layup to stretch the lead to 42-37. A little more than a minute later, Stephens connected on his fourth 3-pointer to make it 45-39.
“Kendall came in and made a lot of plays,” said Clodi. “We had a long time to talk to him on the bench. We just said, ‘hey, it could be 10 seconds, it could be six minutes – it’s up to you. No foul is worth it. Play smart.’
“He hit that first 3 after sitting so long, and then he hit the next one,” added Clodi. “He’s a tough-nosed kid who wants to make plays for the Saints.”
St. Charles East also received a 14-point, 6-rebound effort from junior forward Johnny Hondlik, 12 points and 7 boards from Motley, and solid defensive performances from Dan Ditusa, Charlie Fisher, Luke Ludke, Matt Ray, and Zach Zajicek.
“Johnny played great,” Clodi said of Hondlik, who combined with Motley for 12 of the Saints’ 21 fourth-quarter points. “He’s a difference maker. He pulled down some rebounds and started our break.”
Glenbard West, which led 12-8 after one quarter, owned a 27-26 halftime advantage thanks in part to the play of 6-6 junior Michael Mache, who tallied 15 of his team-leading 21 points in the first half.
The Hilltoppers also hurt the Saints at the free-throw line, where they were 12-of-14 in the first 16 minutes.
But the visitors, who were outscored 6-5 during Stephens’ near 8-minute absence, attempted just 3 foul shots the rest of the way while committing 12 second-half turnovers.
“We needed to gain a little ground there,” said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder. “When he (Stephens) went back in, he made an impact immediately. He had 23 points and I don’t think he played more than half the game. We didn’t do a very good job on him.
“And we’ve got to do a better job when the game is on the line of taking care of the basketball,” added Hoder, whose team has now lost 6 of its last 7 games.