Glenbrook North too much for Fremd in Wheeling semifinals
After losing in the title game a year ago at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic to Libertyville, Glenbrook North has made it their mission to get back to the title game.
The Spartans rolled in the first two games winning by margins of 28 points in each and had a running clock in both games.
On Friday, Glenbrook North did it again, with a running clock, rolling past Fremd 72-43 as the Spartans (13-1) return to the finals for the second year in a row.
They will attempt to pick up their first Hardwood title when they meet Neuqua Valley Saturday at 8:45 p.m. Neuqua beat Hampshire 57-37 in the other semifinal.
“We are hoping to exorcise some demons from last year,” Glenbrook North coach Quin Hayes said. “We have beaten Libertyville and now Fremd, so it is almost the same route. But we have to finish this job. It is going to be a tough one. Neuqua is a tough basketball team.”
Fremd (9-5), which will play Hampshire in the third place game at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, was able to take an early 7-6 advantage against Glenbrook North midway through the first quarter.
That's when Glenbrook North’s threes took over.
The Spartans, which had scored their first two baskets from outside the arc, would add two others, along with a three-point play as they built a 19-9 lead after one quarter.
Glenbrook North played a nearly perfect first half on both ends of the court in the first half as the Spartans (13-1) took a 40-22 halftime lead.
On offense, Glenbrook North was able to move the ball around to find plenty of open shots, especially from outside the arc. They knocked down 8-of-12 three-pointers in the first half and 13-of-19 until late in the game when the Spartans subbed out.
On the defensive end, the Spartans man-to-man defense kept Fremd away from the basket. Glenbrook North forced 8 first half turnovers and limited the Vikings to 33% (6-of-18) from the field in the half.
“We shot it well tonight,” Hayes said. “But that comes and goes for all teams. We will try to build on what we do defensively.”
Jordan Cohen came off the bench to lead Glenbrook North with 16 points. He converted all 5 of his three-point shots.
Owen Giannoulias had 15 points and four assists, Sam Lappin scored 14 points, Brandon Wilensky 11 points on a trio of three-pointers and Josh Fridman had 7 points and five assists.
After the first four minutes, Fremd struggled the rest of the way thanks to the solid defensive play of Glenbrook North, which forced 16 turnovers.
“They played very well defensively and the shot the ball extremely well,” Fremd coach Bob Widlowski said. “We didn't play our best and I thought Glenbrook North came to play. Their defensive pressure took us out of what we wanted to run.”
Ryan Brown lead Fremd with 15 points. Ryan Cox added 9 points and Jordan Williams had six points and five rebounds.
“We have to regroup and come back in 22 hours,” Widlowski said. “We need to play better and we plan on doing that.”