Boys basketball: Glenbard North climbs out of big hole to beat Lake Park

Lake Park is a tough place for a visiting team to come in and get a win — especially when you’re down by 14 points just before halftime.

But Friday night, Glenbard North found a way.

The Panthers completely turned the tables in the second half, roaring back from a 21-7 deficit to score a 41-38 DuKane Conference boys basketball victory.

Lamari Carpenter and Oturo Redento excelled down the stretch for Glenbard North. Carpenter scored 8 of his 13 points in the final period, while Redento tallied 7 of his 13 in the fourth.

Combined, Redento and Carpenter were 9-of-9 from the free-throw line in the final minutes, a mark that Panthers coach Kevin Tonn called “extremely impressive”.

“This was a very gritty win,” added Tonn. “We pressured them (Lake Park) a little bit more at the end of the third, and the beginning of the fourth. I thought we made some good plays out of that, and we started shooting the ball a little better too.

“Lake Park is always so tough, and so disciplined. They’ve got kids who play within their system on both offense and defense. It’s really tough to score against them, and I’m so proud of our kids tonight. They really bounced back in that second half.”

Junior Freddy Battaglia led Lake Park (3-7, 1-3) with 13 points.

“They (Glenbard North) started playing a little more zone,” said Lancers coach Billy Pitcher about the Panthers’ second-half comeback. “They were down, so they got aggressive.

“They were the more aggressive team in the second half, and that was the difference. We were too tentative and too passive, and they took control.”

Glenbard North (4-4, 1-3) made a run in the third quarter, but still trailed 31-23 heading into the final stanza.

But the visitors kept up the defensive pressure and when Carpenter hit two free throws with 3:05 remaining, Glenbard North had their first lead at 36-35.

“He was playing really well,” said Tonn of Carpenter. “He’s a sophomore, and he’s still learning the game and learning the conference. We expect big things from him, and he’s working hard and doing all the right stuff."

Carpenter said that switching up to a zone in the second half, and a great defensive effort, paced the Panthers.

“We had to start coming out harder,” he said, “and our defense was the key.”

Glenbard North pushed the lead to 40-35, but a 3 with 6 seconds left by Lake Park junior Max Alvarado cut the deficit to 40-38.

Then Maharri Thatch of Glenbard North was fouled and hit one of two free throws to make it 41-38. Lake Park had a chance at the end, but a half-court heave at the buzzer by Lake Park’s Luca Stella bounced off the back of the rim.

Brennan Shannon finished with 6 points for the Lancers, while Jack Schager tallied 8 for Glenbard North.

“All we had to do was play hard,” added Carpenter. “That’s all it is.”