Cashaw, Stevenson top Glenbard West for tourney title
Connor Cashaw and his Stevenson basketball teammates had seen enough.
After watching a sizable first-quarter lead disappear during the middle part of Saturday's Lyons Township/Hinsdale Central Thanksgiving tournament championship game against Glenbard West, the Patriots used their experience and uptempo style of play to make things right again.
Stevenson reeled off 13 unanswered points to open the fourth quarter and never looked back en route to a 61-42 victory over the Hilltoppers at Hinsdale Central for the tourney title.
Cashaw scored 9 of his game-high 22 points during that run as the Patriots fired up the flow of the game by forcing some turnovers by pressuring the ball and getting in passing lanes.
"We played more as a team," Cashaw said. "Our leaders got us through that stretch. We really stuck down defensively. We have so much chemistry and experience, and we just fought through that."
"We were able to get up in the passing lanes - that's our game," said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose. "We are a veteran team."
The game time had changed from the evening to 1 p.m. to allow the players and their fans to have time to get to Champaign to support the football team, which played in the Class 8A title game at 7 p.m.
With lightning-quick players like senior guards Cashaw, Jalen Brunson and Matt Johnson as well as sophomore forward Justin Smith running the ball up the court like it is a track meet, teams will be hard pressed to match them.
Stevenson (4-0) is the top-ranked team in Illinois and is among the top 10 teams ranked nationally. Brunson, who finished with 20 points, is one of the top point guards in the country. He recently signed with Villanova.
Despite the Patriots' prowess that doesn't mean that they are immune from lulls. Stevenson surged to a 18-2 lead with 2:15 left to play in the first quarter but then watched Glenbard West (3-1) get its long-range shooting game going as the defense got a little complacent rotating to defend the ball.
The Hilltoppers sank seven 3-pointers in the second and third quarters. They cut the deficit to 5 points on three occasions in the third quarter. Alex Passi, Justin Pierce, Brian Cochrane and Danny Walker each hit clutch 3s. Kalen Starkey, who led the team with 10 points, used his quickness to the hoop to tally some scores.
"I knew our kids would keep battling," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. "(The Patriots) are so good in transition. We took some bad shots early and that allowed them to get out running. Once we settled down and got some better looks, we were able to set our defense and get some stops. (Hitting the 3-point shot) is a big part of what we do."
Brunson is a good shot, too, and he drained a 3-pointer to close the third quarter. He was held to 5 points in the first half but got it going with 15 points after halftime.
"We started playing Stevenson basketball - moving the ball and trying to get easy looks," Brunson said.