Glenbard North not up to sitting back
Lead or no lead, Glenbard North is Glenbard North.
The Panthers showed as much in Saturday's 61-53 win over Naperville North the first DuPage Valley Conference loss of the season for the Huskies. Leading late in the game the Panthers could have sat back and forced Naperville North to foul them, allowing Glenbard North to seal the game from the line.
Glenbard North, however, did the opposite by attacking the basket with the lead. Josh Fleming converted a three-point play and Ryan Krueger scored in the post to help extend a 1-point lead to 5 points.
"We play aggressively, and that's part of what we like to do," said Glenbard North coach Joe Larson. "Even if we're up 6 or 7 and there's three minutes left, two minutes left, we still want to get a layup if we can."
Given the length and athleticism of players like 6-foot-6 Fleming and 6-8 Krueger, the late strategy can make sense.
It seemed extra sensible on Saturday considering Glenbard North's 17-of-28 free-throw shooting against the Huskies. While the Panthers made 6 of 8 fourth-quarter shots from the field, they made only 10 of 19 attempts from the line.
One for the books:
York junior guard David Cohn outdid himself in last week's 75-64 West Suburban Silver win over Hinsdale Central. In fact Cohn outdid everyone else in program history.
Cohn scored a stunning 47 points to break the Dukes' single-game record by a point. York coach Tom Kleinschmidt no stranger to high-scoring games during his time at Gordon Tech and DePaul couldn't say enough about the effort.
"It was the best shooting performance I've ever seen in high school," Kleinschmidt said. "It was fun to watch."
It had to be odd early when Hinsdale Central led 29-26 late in the first half. Cohn had all 26 of the Dukes' points until he assisted on a 3-pointer that tied the game.
Cohn made 14 of 17 shots from the field, the bulk of the makes being jumpers including 7-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.
Behind Cohn's scoring surge the Dukes have won nine straight games heading into Friday's West Suburban Silver matchup at Lyons Twp.
"They could have been pointing at each other and making excuses when we started 1-3, but they've responded well," Kleinschmidt said. "We're taking care of the ball a lot better and we're guarding better. We're hot and everyone wants to be on the court playing their roles."
Second-half struggles:
After starting the season strong by winning seven of its first nine games, Glenbard East fell to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in the DuPage Valley Conference with Tuesday's loss to Glenbard North.
Rams coach Scott Miller has tried numerous lineups to put around 6-foot-6 forward Dante Bailey, the Rams' leading scorer and lone returning starter from last season's third-place team in Class 4A.
Following Tuesday's loss, Miller stressed that he's still trying to find the right combinations on the court.
"It's crazy, different guys bring it different nights," Miller said. "We just can't get any continuity with guys playing well together."
Glenbard East looks to turn things around Friday at home against Wheaton North. Surprisingly, the Rams are 0-5 at home this season.
"We'll just keep plugging away," Miller said. "We'll keep trying to find a group that plays well together."
Getting better every day:
On good teams behind every great scorer is a secondary scorer. Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer is working with junior forward Bryan Jefferson to consistently fill that role in support of 21-point scorer Jared Brownridge.
"In the games that we've won we've had other guys step up, we've had balanced scoring," Weemer said after last week's loss to Neuqua Valley. "We can't have one guy scoring 25 or 30 and then no one else scoring."
Brandon Malby, averaging a little over 8 points, maximizes his willingness to mix it up inside. He's a hugely competitive 6-1 senior giving up inches in the paint, who will go through a wall to grab a rebound or loose ball. He leads the Warriors in offensive rebounds and was tied with Dylan Warden in taking charges.
Jefferson, with a sleek 6-foot-6 frame, has started reaching double figures consistently to increase his scoring average to nearly 10 a game, on 60-percent shooting.
Weemer admitted he's hard on Jefferson, because of expectations and simply the desire for him to improve. Weemer sees Jefferson stepping into that scoring role.
"You want coaches on you, because we want what's best for you, and we want you to keep continuing to work hard," Weemer said. "Bryan knows that, I think, and he's maturing and growing, and he's going to be a nice high school basketball player for us. He'll continue to work."
The streak continues:
Die-hard basketball junkies will be amused to know the streak continues in the Interstate Eight Tournament.
Last Saturday No. 6 seed Westmont defeated No. 1 Herscher 58-49 to win the title. In the tournament's six years the top seed has never won. What's more, Herscher came into the championship game unbeaten at 19-0.
It was the second time in two seasons an unbeaten top-seed lost. In 2010 Lisle beat 17-0 Dwight in the semifinals.
"It's a topsy-turvy tournament," said Lisle coach Mark LaScala.
This year Lisle finished seventh, rallying from a disappointing loss to Wilmington to defeat Seneca 45-30 behind Kazim Khan's 21 points. Lisle has beaten Seneca twice in the last three meetings, and the Lions get another crack on Tuesday.
At that game LaScala's predecessor, Mark D'Amico, will be honored. Over 22 seasons from 1984-2006, D'Amico went 411-195 with a 2003 downstate appearance. He is retiring this year as a drivers' education instructor.