Boys basketball: Glenbard North slips past Hersey in DuKane/MSL Challenge
The DuKane Conference/Mid-Suburban League Challenge concluded with a boys basketball game Saturday between MSL East-leader Hersey and DuKane front-runner Glenbard North.
The back-and-forth clash didn't disappoint. The Panthers used a late rally to beat the Huskies 54-52 on a basket in the paint from senior center Matt Welch with 17 seconds left to move their record to 12-3 on the season.
“We were excited to play this game against a real quality team,” Glenbard North coach Kevin Tonn said. "(Hersey is) a very good team. Both on the defensively and offensively they're very tough. I thought we were good especially in the second half handling the ball. I'm really proud of our guys.”
With Glenbard North ahead 46-43 on an inside bucket from junior forward Oturo Redento at the 6:45 mark of the fourth quarter, Hersey (14-2) went on a 7-0 tear that senior guard Logan Luxem capped with a steal, drive and layup for 2 of his game-high 21 points, which placed the Huskies up 50-46 with 4:21 to play.
Glenbard North then answered with consecutive hoops from Redento and Welch to even things at 50 with 2:15 left.
Then, following a Charlie Pomis drive down the lane for 2 points, Welch (team-high 17 points) connected on his second straight turnaround jumper to tie the game at 52 with 61 seconds left.
His game-winning basket came 44 seconds later after a Huskies turnover put the ball back in Panthers hands.
“This feels great,” Welch said. “I'm just a senior on this team. I feel like the game's on me at that point, but it's great to have these guys on my team.”
The Huskies still had one last shot at victory when Glenbard North turned the ball over on an offensive foul. That gave Hersey possession with 4.2 seconds left, but a 3-point attempt hit off the front of the rim as time expired.
Redento's 14 points along with junior teammate Lamari Carpenter's 13 aided Glenbard North's winning effort. Pomis' 15 points and junior forward Jake Nawrot's 10 led Hersey.
“I think everybody will look at the last three possessions where we didn't execute offensively the way we wanted to,” Huskies coach Bob Widlowski said.
“I thought we did a nice job getting the ball back in the last minute, but we need to look at where we need to improve to win these (types) of games.”
Prospect 58, Wheaton North 50:
The Knights (8-8) bounced back from an MSL West home loss to Palatine on Thursday evening to nab the win in Saturday's opener. Junior Danny Simon paced Prospect with 14 points, followed by 11 apiece from guards Anderson Neach and Cole Zinzer. The Falcons dropped to 9-6.
Batavia 54, Conant 50:
The Bulldogs swept the week, going 3 for 3 to move their mark to 8-7 overall. Conant fell to 4-13 on the season.
Hoffman Estates 67, St. Charles East 44:
MSL East-leading Hoffman Estates moved its record to 15-3 behind 33 points from senior sharpshooter Torey Baskin and 15 from junior forward Cam James. The Saints fell to 1-15.
Palatine 58, WW South 51:
In the penultimate game of the day, the Pirates (14-3) withstood a barrage from beyond the 3-point arc as the Tigers (10-5) connected for 14 3s.
Senior center Tony Balanganayi led Palatine with 18 points, followed by 11 each from senior forward Brady May and junior swingman Abram Williams.
Junior David Showman led WW South with a game-high 22.