Hilltoppers get closer
They say television adds 10 pounds to a person's appearance.
It also beefed up Glenbard West's point total over the first time it played Oak Park.
Still, as the West Suburban Silver foes performed for a live Comcast audience on Thursday, Oak Park swept the season series 55-49.
The second quarter of the prime-time contest was unsuitable for children -- at least those white-clad crazies pulling for the home team.
Oak Park (15-5, 5-2) outscored the Hilltoppers 20-5, its full-court, man-to-man press causing 7 turnovers that helped translate to four 3-point baskets.
"That's our thing. We get on a Huskie run," said Oak Park's Iman Shumpert, the Georgia Tech-bound guard who shared the big stage with Northwestern recruit John Shurna of Glenbard West.
"And once we have a Huskie run," Shumpert said, "nobody ever comes back."
Glenbard West (9-8, 2-5) did, nearly all the way. Oak Park led 43-33 entering the fourth quarter, but a Shane Bryant 3 sent Glenbard West within 46-45 with 3:52 left.
Baskets by Marcus Acree and Daniel Barnes had Oak Park up 50-46 with 2:03 left.
Two Dave McCaffrey free throws kept the Hilltoppers within 50-48, but Shumpert iced the win by making 5 of 6 free throws in the last 1:35.
Thursday's game was a lot closer than the first meeting, a 45-26 Oak Park victory.
Three minutes into it Glenbard West was nearly halfway to its prior total. Shurna scored 6 and Bryant Venson 4 for a 10-0 start.
"Just energy-wise we had to come out and play with everything we had," Shane Bryant said.
Retiring Huskies coach Al Allen, in his last game at Biester Gymnasium, needed to clip that energy.
"They were getting layups so easily that we had to stop zone pressing," Allen said. "When we went to a man-to-man press, that's when they started turning the ball over."
Oak Park ended the first quarter on a 10-5 run -- with a Shumpert dunk on Acree's alley-oop pass -- then held Glenbard West to 2 second-quarter field-goal attempts and led 30-20 at the half.
"We needed to sustain some of that defensive effort a little bit, not let them jump right back in," said Hilltoppers coach Tim Hoder.
Shurna had game highs of 24 points and 11 rebounds. Venson added 10 points and Bryant 9. Shumpert led Oak Park with 22 points.
"You couldn't ask for a better atmosphere," Shurna said. "Playing on TV against a big conference rival, going against arguably one of the top players in the state. You couldn't not have fun out there."