Boys basketball: York’s Stepanich makes a sectional-winning play, beating Glenbard East
All York was looking for was just a singular basket.
With 15 seconds remaining and trailing Glenbard East by two points, the Dukes were looking for any opening to either tie Friday’s Bartlett sectional final or take the lead.
And when senior Hunter Stepanich saw the opening he needed, he drove to the basket, sunk the layup to tie it, and got the foul sending him to the free-throw line to potentially give them the lead with just 5.4 seconds remaining.
No pressure for the Princeton football and volleyball commit.
“You get back there and you hear all of that noise, but once you get to the line, everything just goes silent,” Stepanich said. “You’ve got to lock in. You know what the job is, you’ve just got to execute.”
Stepanich did just that, sinking the game-winning free throw and locking down on defense, helping the Dukes to a 37-36 victory to secure their first sectional title since 1982.
“That’s a huge moment for no matter who takes that shot,” Stepanich said. “We all knew that anyone on our team could’ve made that shot, but I’m glad it was me because it’s a special moment for us all.”
The Dukes (31-4) will advance to the University of Illinois-Chicago supersectional, where they’ll take on St. Ignatius at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
“This group, man,” York coach Mike Dunn said. “We’re 31-4 and regional and sectional champions. Nobody would have ever thought of that. But these kids never died, and it’s a testament to them all. This is what March Madness is all about.
“Two years ago we were on the opposite end of this. We talked about it, and it still hurts. But these kids wanted to win it for those seniors from two years ago.”
The Dukes trailed the Rams 35-29 with 1:27 left in the contest before junior Nathan Poku (9 points) sunk the only 3-pointer for either team in the half from the top of the key, sparking an 8-1 run down the stretch.
“I just knew I had to get a shot off there,” Poku said. “I just knew I had to help my team finish out the game. I knew that once I made that, we had to go and finish it.”
Glenbard East (30-4) had controlled the second half up to Poku’s shot. After entering halftime down 25-14, the Rams held the Dukes scoreless in the third quarter to make it 25-25 and then started the fourth quarter on a 10-4 run to make it 35-29.
“We know that we’re known for shooting the ball, but we’ve got to hang our hat on our defense,” Rams coach Eric Kelly said. “Defense will allow you to hang around when those shots aren’t falling. We weren’t making many shots in the first half, but they all battled and we were able to hang around the game because of it.”
A lot of that defensive help came from the duo of seniors Danny Snyder and Sam Walton. Snyder led the team with six steals, while Walton picked up 11 rebounds, five steals and five blocks.
“Danny really is an underrated on-ball defender that is really quick with his feet and hands, and he really got after it,” Kelly said. “And Walton takes pride in playing both ends of the floor, and he’s gotten a lot better since his freshman year.”
York ended up taking advantage of the shooting woes of Glenbard East from the gun, making 7 of 8 shots from the floor in the first quarter to take a 17-8 lead, thanks to Poku and junior Joseph Lubbe, who had all 11 of his points in the quarter.
“We wanted to set the tone right off the bat,” Dunn said. “We know Glenbard East is really good and their two guards play at a high level. We knew they were going to make a run and shoot the ball better in the second half. We just stayed put and stayed within the game.”
Senior Keenan House ended up leading Glenbard with eight points in the contest, with Walton and Michael Nee right behind with seven. The loss brings an end to a record season for the Rams, which broke the program record for wins in a season and led them to their first sectional title game since 2011.
“It’s hard, especially with a lot of those guys being here for four years and putting in the hard work,” Kelly said. “I’ve been through so much with them and seen how much they’ve grown up. They put in so much work for this program, and the Class of 2026 will not be forgotten.”