Boys basketball: Lemont defense stifles Glenbard South in regional final

The opening four minutes of Friday night’s Class 3A Fenton regional final between Glenbard South and Lemont laid the groundwork for the contest’s outcome.

Holding an early 4-point advantage over the Raiders, Lemont’s Ryan Crane swiped an errant inbounds pass, coasting the other way for an easy basket.

On the subsequent Glenbard South possession, Lemont forced another turnover. This time, senior guard Julian Overton converted at the other end.

When the final buzzer sounded, Lemont had secured its second consecutive triumph holding its opponent under 30, as smothering defense for all 32 minutes propelled Lemont to a 42-29 victory over Glenbard South in Bensenville on Friday night.

“We knew we had to apply a lot of pressure, and that’s what we focused on through film,” Crane said.

A steady first half from Glenbard South junior Sean Reese, who finished the half with 7 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line, kept the Raiders (22-10, 7-5) in the game as halftime arrived.

In the third, however, Lemont (20-12, 10-3) blew it wide open with a surgical defensive performance, holding Glenbard South to just two points in the period.

“I give kids credit for really paying attention to the pregame,” said Lemont coach Rick Runaas. “You know, going through video and going through on-court work the last couple of days, and really kind of intellectualizing what we were trying to do.”

Behind Crane, who poured in a game-high 15 points while adding 5 steals and 5 boards, Lemont deployed a balanced offensive attack.

Zane Schneider and Lucas Glozbach, both juniors, finished with 10 and 8 points, respectively. Schneider added 6 rebounds and a steal, while Glozbach tallied a steal and a pair of blocks. Overton contributed 8 points of his own.

For the Raiders, who battled until the clock struck double zeros, Reese paced the team with 9 points. Juniors Johnathan Hadley and Jordyn Warren totaled 7 points each.

“We probably exceeded a lot of people’s expectations for our record and our standing in the conference,” said Glenbard South coach Jason Mead. “I think they got better most days. They worked as hard as they could. I’m really proud of our seniors. We have some seniors that make our school better. It’s just hard. Any time it’s the last game, it’s hard.”

As a strong season comes to a close for the Raiders, Lemont prepares for the winner of top-seeded Joliet Catholic and No. 7 St. Francis. They will meet Tuesday night at the Class 3A Hinsdale South sectional semifinals.