Boys basketball: Evanston’s strong play late denies Glenbard West state berth

Josh Abushanab, his face covered by his white jersey, led a steady stream of Glenbard West players back to a quiet locker room as the other side celebrated on a loud court.

Abushanab no doubt held lingering memories Monday as he first walked onto the NOW Arena floor.

Abushanab, Glenbard West’s 6-foot-5 junior forward, was part of an upstart Glenbard North team that last year won a sectional title and lost to New Trier in a supersectional in Hoffman Estates.

Abushanab was back Monday, wearing a different uniform. And playing like a kid hungry to get to state.

He scored a team-high 16 points, his two free throws sending the Hilltoppers into the fourth quarter leading by two.

But Glenbard West managed just one made basket over the first seven minutes of the final quarter. Evanston rallied behind senior Theo Rocca, a Wash-U commit, for a 47-43 win in the Class 4A supersectional.

“Being here again, definitely fueled the fire in me,” Abushanab said. “Leaving here a loser again, definitely fuels me even more. It is what it is. Evanston is well-coached, did what they needed to do.”

Rocca scored a game-high 17 points and made four free throws in the final minute for Evanston (30-5), which advanced to state for the first time since taking second place in Class 4A in 2019.

The Wildkits play Benet in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday night in Champaign.

“All the games we have had up to this point have prepared us for these types of games,” said Rocca, who led Evanston’s 13-for-16 effort at the free-throw line. “We knew if we wanted to get back in the game we had to not worry, trust ourselves, trust our teammates, trust our game plan, and that’s what we did.”

Teyion Oriental added nine points and Logan Glover eight for Glenbard West (28-6). Three years after the Hilltoppers' 2022 title team took the state by storm, Glenbard West sought a return to Champaign.

Instead, it settled for the program’s fourth sectional championship.

“As a coaching staff, we couldn’t be more proud of this group,” Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said. “The adversity that we fought through all year, the ups and downs and to be playing our best basketball these last two and a half weeks, has been outstanding.

“We’ve grown together and made special moments.”

Glenbard West led 15-7 early, its 1-3-1 defense forcing six Evanston turnovers in the first quarter while Abushanab and Glover each scored six points.

But the Hilltoppers forced just five turnovers the rest of the game. Rocca’s 3-pointer, part of a 12-0 run, tied it 15-15.

“We thought we could only have 10 turnovers, and we had four right away,” Evanston coach Mike Ellis said. “We ended the game with only five more turnovers [after the first quarter]. With the fortitude that this team had and the will to compete ... that’s a very good team we played, very well-coached.

“For our guys to come out and not play their best at the start but not panic says a lot about their experience and will to win.”

Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers struggled to score in the half-court against Evanston. Glenbard West managed just two field goals in the second quarter and trailed 25-22 at halftime.

“They had great help-side defense, a great scouting report,” Glenbard West junior guard TJ Williams said. “It made it very difficult to score.”

A Rocca drive extended the margin to 29-22, but Glenbard West rallied behind Abushanab. Abushanab followed a Williams 3-pointer with his own to cut the Evanston lead to 30-28, and his three-point play tied it 31-31.

Abushanab’s two free throws in the final seconds of the third quarter sent Glenbard West into the fourth quarter ahead 35-33.

He had the Hilltoppers' lone basket over the first seven minutes of the fourth, an athletic drive and tough shot off glass to pull his team within 40-37 with 4:52 left.

“Our game plan was, we knew they were going to get up in our grill,” Opoka said. “We had to go attack them and go downhill. We did that early; late we still attacked, but again 43 points isn’t enough.”

Freshman Ben Ojala added eight points for Evanston, his 3-pointer in the first minute of the fourth quarter giving the Wildkits the lead for good 36-35.

Evanston started the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 42-37 lead.

Glenbard West got within three, but had three empty possessions in the final minutes.

“It initiated with their physicality,” Opoka said. “Their physicality on ball and on our wings disrupted our comfortability. ...

“In my 20 years of coaching, [Evanston’s defense] is the most intense and well-connected that I have ever seen.”