McGowen, Anthony have big night against Glenbard North
The junior duo of Rowan McGowen and Luke Anthony proved too much for host Glenbard North to overcome in Wheaton North's 61-48 DuPage Valley Conference victory Friday night in Carol Stream.
Together, McGowen and Anthony scored 40 points and combined to shoot 14 of 16 from the free-throw line as the Falcons improved to 8-5 in league play and 15-8 overall.
"Obviously, we rely a lot on those two," Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann said, "but the whole team contributes to get those guys 40 points. The last few games, we've done a better job screening for them. We told the guys, the better screens you set for them, the more opportunities you will get for yourself because their defenders will have to help. We are playing unselfishly the last several games and that has really helped us."
McGowen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the second quarter as the visitors broke a 13-13 tie after the opening eight minutes and surged ahead 32-24 by halftime. He finished with a game-high 24 points.
"Our teammates are doing a great job of setting screens for us and getting us open," McGowen said. "And Luke and I are doing a good job of coming off the screens. I'm just trying to find different ways to get open; that helps a lot, it keeps the defense guessing."
Wheaton North's defense also picked up in the middle quarters. After halftime the Falcons held the Panthers without a point until 2:09 remained in the third quarter, with the margin reaching 16 after an 8-0 spurt. Then when the home team sliced the deficit to 8 early in the fourth, Anthony hit a pair of 3-pointers to silence the comeback. The guard totaled 16 points and 7 rebounds.
"In the first quarter we didn't play as good of defense as we would have liked," Anthony said. "In the second and third quarter we really picked it up. That was good to see, we played great team defense in the second and third quarters. It was a good win. We are trying to get momentum for the playoffs. Conference is out of reach, but we are trying to finish second and finish the season strong."
Sophomore Josh Sorenson added 9 points for Wheaton North, including a long 3 right before the halftime buzzer sounded off an inbounds play.
Nick Lavere led Glenbard North (8-14, 3-10) with 17 points and Kibet Chepyator and Michael Matkovic had 8 points apiece.
"They hit some big 3s in the second quarter," Glenbard North coach Joe Larson said. "I think they hit four or five and that extended the lead. That was big. But overall, our energy level and attention to detail defensively was solid all night."