Glenbard South gets inside game going

Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke wanted more emphasis on the inside game following a tight first half with Reavis.

The emphasis worked and helped overcome a dominating 36-point performance from Reavis guard Nicholas Bal as the Raiders upended the Rams 62-54 at the Romeoville Christmas Classic on Monday night.

"We had to establish the inside," Hardtke said. "We weren't able to get the uptempo game we wanted, and we ended up pulling our pressure off because we were giving to many up too many layups."

Glenbard South opened the scoring with a jumper from senior Matt Jeske to give the Raiders an early 2-0 lead. Reavis' Bal answered with a 3-pointer, beginning one of 6 lead changes between the teams in the first half.

Reavis took the lead near the end of the first quarter with a jumper from Bal, then took a 4-point lead after a 3 from sophomore Eduard Puha. The second quarter began 18-14 in the Rams' favor, but the Raiders pulled even after buckets from Jeske and senior Dusko Despot.

The seesaw battle continued as both teams traded buckets down the stretch. Reavis held a 4-point lead before Jon Berrospi nailed a jumper, followed by a steal and a quick layup by Mitch Gasbarro, tying the game. Gasbarro evened the game with a bucket, then gave Glenbard South the halftime lead 28-27, sinking the free throw.

The Raiders (6-4) took advantage of Despot's 6-foot-6 height and dominance in the second half, using his 14-point second-half performance to pace their victory.

Despot used his frame twice to score putback baskets and another time to draw a foul off an inbounds pass. The Raiders went on a 13-0 third-quarter run before Rams guard Marko Enciso stopped the bleeding with a jumper. Bal drilled two baskets near the end of the third to pull the Rams within 9.

"We knew coming in Dusko would have to have a big night, and again, we needed to establish the inside game," Hardtke said. "I think we did a much better job of that in the second half and he was a big part of it."

"We didn't stop the ball at all," Reavis coach Jeffrey Smith said. "Our big guys didn't play with enough toughness. We started the half giving up four straight baskets and they were all layups. We just didn't have toughness. "

The Raiders once again went inside on the Rams in the fourth quarter, but Bal nearly brought the Rams (5-6) all the way back with his dominance. Bal scored 16 points in the final quarter, drilling 4 3-pointers. Trailing 54-45, Bal sunk a 3-pointer at the top of the arc while being fouled, and then converted the four-point play on the free throw. His heroics were not enough as the Raiders defense held up and held on, 62-54.

"He didn't need a lot of daylight, and he kept them in it all night long," Hardtke said.

"Nick is the best scorer we've had here in a while," Smith said. "He makes the open 3, he plays pretty good defense. He's a good player for us. I wish a couple of our other guys would step up. When they do we win, but Nick is solid every night."

Glenbard South will face the winner of the Chicago Urban Prep West-Romeoville game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.