Boys basketball: Glenbard East’s run at Tosh tourney ends in semifinals to St. Ignatius

Glenbard East senior point guard Danny Snyder is doing a good job of turning heads at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst.

Throughout the prestigious tournament, the 6-foot-2 Snyder has proven to be one of the key factors behind Glenbard East’s strong run. Even before Tuesday’s 62-52 loss to St. Ignatius in the semifinals, Snyder had established himself as a player to watch during Glenbard East’s memorable start this season.

After the Rams won 22 games last season, along with a Class 4A regional title, Glenbard East coach Eric Kelly said he preferred to take some ball-handling pressure off senior guard Michael Nee.

Kelly wanted Snyder, a four-year varsity player, to take on a bigger role bringing the ball up and scoring for the Rams, especially with the goal of earning a trip to the state tournament with four starters returning.

“We challenged him because we didn’t really have any real ball handlers outside of Michael last year,” Kelly said. “We want Michael to shoot the ball, so Danny took that challenge on being able to handle the ball. He really put in the work in the offseason.”

Once again, Snyder’s new game was on display Tuesday night.

Nee scored a game-leading 23 points and Snyder added 15 points, but St. Ignatius scored the first nine points and never trailed to post a victory over the Rams in the Jack Tosh semifinals.

The Rams (11-2) will have to settle for playing in Wednesday’s 1:30 p.m. third-place game against the winner Batavia and Glenbard North. The Wolfpack (13-2) shocked the Rams with a barrage of 3-pointers in the first half, with five different players drilling a 3 to seize a 35-28 lead.

St. Ignatius shot 12 of 24 on 3s, led by Duke Ross, who had a team-high 19 points on 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Chris Bolte finished with 15 points and Napoleon Harris IV had 11.

“It was a good opponent and we knew they could shoot the ball really well,” Snyder said. “We struggled contesting with their 3s, but we knew we’re a good team and would be able to fight and stick in the game no matter what. That’s a very respectable opponent.”

Early in the third quarter, the Wolfpack were on the verge of a blowout semifinal victory, leading 42-28 and later 54-41 with 6:23 left in the fourth. But Snyder, a sweet-shooting lefty, and Nee took over the offensive load and slowly sliced the deficit to 56-52 with 2:34 remaining. Snyder canned two 3s in a 90-second span to cut the margin to a two-possession game.

“Me and Michael know we have to step up in the big moments,” Snyder said. “We’ve been on the team for a while, but everyone chips in. It was a good team effort.”

The Wolfpack closed out the game with a 6-0 run to advance to Wednesday’s 3 p.m. title game. Kelly said his players showed resolve fighting back throughout the game. The Rams shot 6 of 21 on 3s and were 6 of 15 from the free-throw line.

“These guys are seniors and been there, and they really wanted to win this tournament and they left it all out on the floor,” Kelly said. “You can’t really fault their effort. They give every single ounce of their energy. St. Ignatius shot the ball really well. They made nine of their 12 3-pointers in the first half. Maybe on another day, they don’t shoot like that. They shot really well. They outscored us by 18 points at the 3-point line.”

Kelly said Snyder’s ball handling, toughness on drives to the basket and shooting sparked the Rams in the near-comeback victory.

“Danny has gotten a lot better,” Kelly said. “His handle has gotten a lot better and he gained a lot of strength. He can handle the ball through contact. He had a couple of tough finishes today. He really put in the work. Danny and Mike were in the gym this afternoon. The work shows. We’re not happy we lost, but we will come back tomorrow and be ready to go.”

Snyder, a three-year starter, said he’s been recruited by several NCAA Division-III schools. He credits his strong season to hitting the weight room, allowing him to absorb contact on drives, including on a power move late in the third quarter that chopped the deficit to 47-41.

“It’s a big difference,” Snyder said. “I spent a lot of time in the weight room. I made that more of a priority. I’ve seen big differences in my game. I’m getting more rebounds and get through traffic more.”