Boys basketball: Welch, Glenbard North take care of business, break Geneva’s 18-game DuKane win streak
Matt Welch knew that Glenbard North was ready for revenge.
After losing three games against Geneva a season ago, which included on a buzzer-beater in overtime at home and in the regional finals to end the season, Welch was more than ready to get the Panthers ready to earn some payback.
“We were really determined all week,” said Welch, a senior captain. “The past couple days of practice, we were just playing our hearts out. We just really wanted to win for sure.”
And come Tuesday night, the heart showed out on the court.
Welch put up a team-high 19 points in the game and also added 14 rebounds, helping the Panthers avenge last season’s losses with a 53-48 victory over the Vikings.
“That one felt really great, especially after the losses from last year,” Welch said. “Those really hurt and I was close to a lot of the seniors, so it felt to come out with a win.”
Glenbard North (10-3 overall, 4-1 DuKane) found success out of the gate on offense, finishing the first half making 66% (14 of 21) of its shots, which included going 8 of 10 in the first quarter alone, to enter halftime with a 33-27 lead.
“I was happy with our possessions in that first half,” Panthers coach Kevin Tonn said. “We did a nice job having good, patient looks throughout. Our shooters were confident too. It helps that we’re playing at our place, but I was happy with how we played on both ends of the floor.”
A lot of that success came from Welch, who finished the first half with 14 points. After draining two 3-pointers in the first quarter, the 6-foot-5 senior moved to the inside to get the rest of his points in the paint.
“That’s the type of game that I’ve built around,” Welch said. “I’m typically a bit stronger than whoever’s guarding me, but I can also step out and shoot a 3-pointer whenever I need to.”
Junior Lamari Carpenter added to the scoring with 12 points of his own, helping the Panthers get a double-digit lead over the Vikings in both the second and fourth quarters.
“It’s nice to build up a lead like that, especially against a team like Geneva who can change the tide with their shooting real quick,” Tonn said. “As far as a learning lesson, we need to do a little better down the stretch and make better decisions. But credit to the team for finishing it out.”
The loss brought an end to Geneva’s 18-game winning streak in conference play dating back to the start of last season. The Vikings had also won 21 straight against conference opponents, with wins against three DuKane opponents in last year’s playoff run.
“I mean, it was a heck of a run,” Vikings coach Scott Hennig said. “We lost Welch in the beginning, and he’s one of the best shooters in the conference. Glenbard North does a really good job with their pieces. We’ll take a look at the film and we’ll just kind of go from there.”
Geneva (11-3, 4-1) had a scary incident occur with five minutes remaining in the game and trailing 43-37, when senior forward Kyle Suger (10 points) went down with a severe arm injury, forcing a delay in play before exiting on the stretcher.
While the blow seemed to be a momentum killer at first, entering the final two minutes of play down 47-37, the Vikings went on 10-1 run over the next 90 seconds of play thanks to seniors Nathan Palmer (16 points) and Dane Turner (11 points) to make it 48-47, but couldn’t get the key shot to take the lead.
“I’m proud of the effort and intensity, but at the end of the day, it’s a loss,” Hennig said. “We’ve got to get better, especially in that first half.”