Boys basketball roundup: Lubbe scores 24, helps shorthanded York advance past Bartlett; Glenbard East, Batavia, Glenbard North among other winners

Playing without senior center Hunter Stepanich, York (28-4) scored the first 9 points and never looked back during Wednesday’s 57-33 Class 4A regional basketball semifinal triumph over Bartlett at Glenbard West.

Junior Joseph Lubbe scored 11 of his game-high 24 points during the Dukes’ 17-6 first-quarter surge.

Second-seeded York outscored the 15th-seeded Hawks (9-24) 16-5 in the second quarter, finishing the period with an 11-2 run, building a 33-11 halftime advantage.

Lubbe knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, and an inside bucket from Costa Kampas pushed the lead to 31 at 52-21, beginning a running clock for the final 7 minutes.

Kampas added 11 points for the Dukes, who advance to Friday’s regional championship contest against host Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.

Senior guard Brandon Johnson and junior guard Joey Cwik tallied 10 points apiece for the Hawks.

Glenbard West 70, Leyden 62: Senior Josh Abushanab tallied 9 of his team-high 27 points over the final 4 minutes during Glenbard West’s 70-62 Class 4A regional semifinal victory over Leyden (20-10) Wednesday night in Glen Ellyn.

With the win, the ninth-seeded Hilltoppers (13-17) will face West Suburban Silver rival York (28-4) in Friday’s regional championship. It will mark the third meeting between the two squads, with the Dukes winning the first two.

Jacob Harvanek and Brady Johnson added 19 and 12 points, respectively, for the Hilltoppers.

After the Eagles drained a 3-pointer to pull within 56-55 with 4:30 remaining, Abushanab answered with a 3-pointer of his own and followed with a layup to extend the Hilltoppers’ lead to 61-55. Moments later, Johnson’s reverse layup made it 63-55 with 1:59 left.

Abushanab sealed the decision with 4 free throws in the final minute.

Glenbard North 73, St. Charles East 49: Senior Matt Welch, who recently earned DuKane Conference Player of the Year honors, drained three 3-pointers in the first half during Glenbard North’s 73-49 Class 4A regional semifinal victory over 19th-seeded St. Charles East Wednesday night at St. Charles North.

The third-seeded Panthers (23-7) opened an 18-9 lead after the first quarter.

After the Saints (3-29) scored the first 5 points of the second quarter, the Panthers went on a 12-2 run that included Welch’s 3-pointer and a steal and layup from junior Oturo Redento.

Another Welch 3-pointer in the final 1:35 of the second quarter extended the Panthers’ halftime margin to 36-24.

Glenbard scored the first 9 points of the second half to open a 21-point lead at 45-24 early in the third quarter. The Panthers led 53-32 after 3 quarters.

Welch led the Panthers with 23 points, while Redento and Lamari Carpenter added 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Glenbard added the exclamation point with Redento’s 2-hand reverse dunk in the final 3 minutes. The Panthers advance to Friday’s 6 p.m. regional championship.

Hersey 54, South Elgin 43: Jake Nawrot poured in a game-high 19 points to help lift Hersey (19-7) to a 54-43 victory over South Elgin in Tuesday’s Class 4A regional semifinals at Mt. Prospect.

Third-seeded Hersey led 13-6 after one quarter and 24-18 at halftime before outscoring the 14th-seeded Storm 19-13 in the third quarter to build a 43-31 lead.

South Elgin (11-22), led by senior forward Ilija Babic and junior forward Kyle Mann, cut the deficit to 5 at 45-40 with 3 minutes remaining before the Hawks closed out the game on a 9-3 run.

Charlie Pomis, who topped the 1,000-point mark for his career earlier in the month, added 17 points for Hersey, which advances to Friday’s 6:30 p.m. regional title game.

Mann and Maximo Nalbano finished with 10 and 7 points, respectively, for South Elgin.

Neuqua Valley 90, East Aurora 46: The DuPage Valley Conference champion Wildcats began postseason play with a dominant 90-46 triumph over East Aurora in Wednesday’s Class 4A regional semifinals at Neuqua Valley.

While extending its winning streak to 29 games, second-seeded Neuqua Valley (31-1) advances to Friday’s regional championship against seventh seed Oswego East (20-11), which defeated Downers Grove North, 50-41, in Wednesday’s other semifinal clash.

Yorkville 46, Naperville North 40: The fourth-seeded Huskies (23-9) saw their postseason come to an end on their home floor during Wednesday’s 46-40 Class 4A regional semifinal loss to No. 13 seed Yorkville (15-12).

With the win, the Foxes advance to Friday’s regional championship against fifth-seeded Downers Grove South (24-7), which earned a 60-51 semifinal win over Metea Valley on Wednesday.

Glenbard East 70, Proviso West 36: Senior guard Michael Nee scored a game-high 21 points during Glenbard East’s 70-36 victory over Proviso West in Wednesday’s Class 4A regional semifinals at Glenbard East.

Keenan House and Danny Synder also finished in double figures with 18 and 11 points, respectively, as the top-seeded Rams (28-3) advance to Friday’s 6 p.m. regional championship against Lake Park (14-16), which defeated Addison Trail, 51-38, in the second semifinal.

West Aurora 43, Waubonsie Valley 39: Junior guard Abe Martinez canned a 3-pointer from the corner with 52 seconds remaining to break a 39-39 deadlock, as host West Aurora (19-13) earned a 43-39 victory over Waubonsie Valley during Wednesday’s Class 4A regional semifinals.

After the Warriors (17-14) missed from close range on the ensuing possession, Blackhawks junior guard Travis Brown split a pair of free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining to ice it.

West Aurora advances to Friday’s 7 p.m. regional championship game against defending 4A state champion Benet Academy (31-1).

Batavia 63, Oak Park-River Forest 48: The Bulldogs improved to 21-9 with Wednesday’s 63-48 victory over Oak Park-River Forest during Wednesday’s Class 4A regional semifinals at Willowbrook.

With the win, Batavia moves on to Friday’s 7 p.m. regional championship against DuKane Conference foe Wheaton Warrenville South (21-10), which knocked off Willowbrook (11-21), 68-42, in the other semifinal contest.

Aurora Christian 53, Erie-Prophetstown 47: Junior Preston Morel led four players in double figures with 13 points during Aurora Christian’s 53-47 Class 2A regional semifinal victory over Erie-Prophetstown (14-11) in Aurora.

The Eagles led 27-18 at halftime and 35-23 after 3 quarters before holding off a late Prophetstown rally.

Freshman Luke Baumann scored 12 points for the Eagles, while Joe DeCort and Jacob Baumann added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Third-seeded Aurora Christian (21-7) advances to Friday’s 7 p.m. regional championship clash against second-seeded Byron (24-6).