Glenbard East can’t get 3 to drop in semis
BLOOMINGTON — The 3-point shot has been a staple of the Glenbard East offense, but in the semifinals of the State Farm Holiday Classic against Springfield, that staple was not a friend to the Rams.
Glenbard East hit on just 1 of its first 13 attempts from long range and finished hitting only 4 long balls all night in 30 attempts as the Rams fell to the Senators 59-49 Thursday night at the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan.
Glenbard East (6-3) will play in the third-place game at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Shirk Center against the loser of the second semifinal between Normal U-High and Normal Community. Springfield is in the final.
“We created the tempo we wanted and obviously that would be to our advantage, but we gave up too many layups and too many second-chance points to (Springfield),” said Glenbard East coach Scott Miller. “You have to give a lot of credit to them. They played hard and forced us into a lot of the problems we had.”
Springfield entered the tournament with a 1-7 mark and continued its improbable run to the final with a balanced scoring attack. Stand-out senior Willie Wiley led the Senators again with 15 points.
“We took care of the ball like it was a golden nugget tonight, and we haven’t done that all year,” said Springfield coach Matt Reed. “We’ve played against Proviso East and Belleville and Lanphier and they trap like Glenbard did to us, so I thought our kids were ready for it.”
The Senators seized control early taking a 31-22 halftime advantage before the Rams started to chip away at the lead. Jaylon Hall nailed a long 3-pointer with 1:18 left in the third quarter to pull Glenbard East to within 44-40. It would be as close as the Rams would get the rest of the way.
“We get it to four then they get two or three layups and that has been a problem for us all year,” Miller said. “You just can’t let that happen. We are in the semifinals of the tournament and we can’t afford to let that happen.”
Glenbard East made one final push in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Dante Bailey, but back-to-back Senators baskets secured the win and a trip to the finals for Springfield (4-7).
Bailey tied for game-high honors with 15 points. Decarlos Poole scored 13 points and Isaiah Nelson 11 for Springfield.